Iran summons French diplomat over praise of Palme d'Or-winning film
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates: Iran has summoned France's representative in protest after the French foreign minister praised a prize-winning Iranian film as 'a gesture of resistance against the Iranian regime's oppression.'
Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot had praised 'It Was Just an Accident' after it won the prestigious Palme d'Or award at the Cannes Film Festival. The Iranian film centers on a man who abducts his suspected captor after being tortured in prison.
Iran's Foreign Ministry said the French charge d'affaires was summoned over the minister's 'interventionist, irresponsible and instigative allegations,' the state-run IRNA news agency reported.
'Spare us Iranians the lectures. You have no moral authority whatsoever,' Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on 'X,' citing France's approach to Israel's ongoing war in Gaza. France last week threatened 'concrete action' against Israel if the country didn't halt the offensive in Gaza and lift restrictions on humanitarian aid, but the statement was mostly dismissed as empty threats.
Immediately following the award's announcement, the Iranian state news agency had announced a more muted celebration of the award, crediting the country's film industry for winning a second Palme d'Or after Abbas Kiarostami's 1997 drama, 'Taste of Cherry.'
In Iran, film productions need to receive script approval from the government to shoot in public. Dissident filmmaker Jafar Panahi refuses to do that, knowing they won't allow him to make the films he wants to, and 'It Was Just an Accident' was filmed without cooperation. Iranian state TV called the film a mixture of 'lie and smearing' as well as an 'underground' film produced without required permits in Iran. State TV also chastised Panahi for not mentioning the plight of the Palestinians in his acceptance speech.
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