Iranian actress and jury member at Cannes, Leila Hatami received backlash from Iranian authorities after kissing 83-year-old, Gilles Jacob, Cannes film festival’s president, on the cheek at the opening of the 67th Cannes Film Festival. Hatami gained worldwide presence for her role in 2012 Academy Award winning “The Separation” directed by Asghar Farhadi.
Deputy Culture Minister Hossein Noushabadi, a Tehran official, quotes, “Iranian woman is the symbol of chastity and innocence,” and Hatami’s “inappropriate presence” at Cannes is “not in line” with the religious beliefs or gender behaviors of Iranian women. According to the 1979 Islamic law, women are prohibited from having any physical contact with men not in her family, which Hatami violated by greeting Jacob with a kiss on each cheek.
“Those who attend international events should take heed of the credibility and chastity of Iranians, so that a bad image of Iranian women will not be demonstrated to the world,” Noushabadi quotes, criticizing her behavior as poorly representing Iranian women.
Jacob aims to diffuse the backlash by insisting that “[t]his controversy [is] over a usual custom in the West [and] has therefore no reason to be.”
Iranian actress and jury member at Cannes, Leila Hatami received backlash from Iranian authorities after kissing 83-year-old, Gilles Jacob, Cannes film festival’s president, on the cheek at the opening of the 67th Cannes Film Festival. Hatami gained worldwide presence for her role in 2012 Academy Award winning The Separation directed by Asghar Farhadi.
Deputy Culture Minister Hossein Noushabadi, a Tehran official, quotes, “Iranian woman is the symbol of chastity and innocence,” and Hatami’s “inappropriate presence” at Cannes is “not in line” with the religious beliefs or gender behaviors of Iranian women. According to the 1979 Islamic law, women are prohibited from having any physical contact with men not in her family, which Hatami violated by greeting Jacob with a kiss on each cheek.
“Those who attend international events should take heed of the credibility and chastity of Iranians, so that a bad image of Iranian women will not be demonstrated to the world,” Noushabadi quotes, criticizing her behavior as poorly representing Iranian women.
Jacob aims to diffuse the backlash by insisting that “[t]his controversy [is] over a usual custom in the West [and] has therefore no reason to be.”
