By Andrew P. Napolitano
The president's men trash the Constitution to pursue antagonists
Independent voices from the TWT Communities
Iran's culture minister said Monday that his country will boycott the 2013 Oscars in the wake of the anti-Islam video made in the United States that denigrates the Prophet Muhammad.
Iranian authorities canceled a ceremony Monday in honor of the country's Oscar-winning director even though the government had hailed his win as a triumph over a competitor from Israel.
Iranian authorities canceled a ceremony Monday in honor of the country's Oscar-winning director even though the government had hailed his win as a triumph over a competitor from Israel.
A semiofficial Iranian news agency reports that a ceremony in honor of Oscar-winning director Asghar Farhadi has been canceled after failing to receive official permission.
Iran trumpeted the Islamic Republic's first foreign film Oscar win Monday as a triumph over archfoe Israel — even as audiences in Israel packed theaters to watch the movie that beat their country's entry at the Academy Awards.
Iran hailed the country's first Oscar-winning film as a triumph over arch-foe Israel on Monday after an Academy Award race with its own subplots: Iranian officials giving a grudging nod to cinema and Israeli audiences flocking to see a made-in-Tehran drama.
Iran trumpeted the Islamic Republic's first foreign film Oscar win Monday as a triumph over archfoe Israel _ even as audiences in Israel packed theaters to watch the movie that beat their country's entry at the Academy Awards.
In a humble speech amid tense times, Asghar Farhadi accepted Iran's first Oscar for best foreign film as a chance to celebrate a culture "hidden under the heavy dust of politics."
Followers of Iranian state TV say the Academy Award-winning film "A Separation" shows the world-class talent and sophistication in the Islamic Republic even as it confronts the West over its nuclear program.
The director of "A Separation" dished that the biggest diva on the set of his Oscar-nominated film was none other than his daughter.
Germany's Berlin film festival will hand out its top Golden Bear award for the best film.
A costume drama set during the French revolution and starring Diane Kruger as Marie Antoinette kicked off the annual Berlin film festival Thursday _ the first of the year's major European film festivals.
Their settings span the globe, but this year's foreign-language Academy Award nominees are united in giving local stories a universal resonance.
One needn't look far to find evidence that the Iranian regime isn't thrilled by the success of "A Separation," the Golden Globe winner for best foreign-language film. The Culture Ministry has permitted no more than a trickle of grudging acknowledgments of its festival awards in official news releases. Perhaps the censors are even more upset by the film's record-breaking domestic box office than by its international acclaim.
Nine films have made the cut for consideration in the foreign-language category at the Academy Awards.
"We intended to have a simple and friendly meeting to say 'Thank you' for the great achievement you brought Iran and Iranian cinema, but the cultural custodians did not let us realize this," the statement said, addressing Mr. Farhadi.
"We deeply regret this,"
