Instead, Farhadi will have to watch the Academy Awards on television like everyone else.
Farhadi’s most recent film has also received multiple awards and nominations at this past year’s Cannes Film Festival, including a screenwriting award for Farhadi himself.
For those unfamiliar with his work, Asghar Farhadi had previously been nominated for an Academy Award thanks to his 2011 screenplay for A Separation, a film about the ramifications of a dissolving marriage in modern-day Iran.
At a time where fear and misunderstanding seem to be driving a lot of people’s politics, the hardships of one Iranian filmmaker could help open up new avenues of understanding into their culture.