Oscar-winning Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi condemned the killing of civilians in the ongoing war involving Iran, the US, and Israel, as well as the brutal crackdown on protesters by the Iranian government. Farhadi spoke out on May 14 at the Cannes Film Festival where his new film, "Parallel Tales," premiered featuring actors Isabelle Huppert and Vincent Cassel [1, 2, 3].

Farhadi said, "One was the death of a number of innocent people, children, members of the civilian population who died in the war. Before that, we had the death of a number of demonstrators, people who went to the street to protest, and they were equally innocent. These two events are extremely painful and will never be forgotten" [1]. He called every killing a crime, saying, "From no point of view, or with any justification, can I accept life being taken away from someone, whether it's a war, an execution, or massacring protesters" [3].

The Iranian government has acknowledged more than 3,000 deaths during the January 2026 anti-government protests, which it blames on US and Israeli "terrorist acts." Independent groups estimate the true toll may range between 7,000 and 35,000 killed by security forces during the largest protests in Iran's history [2, 3].

Since February 28, 2026, Iran has been at war with the US and Israel following airstrikes targeting Iran and the wider Middle East. A fragile ceasefire has been in effect since April 8 [3].

Farhadi, who has lived mostly outside Iran since 2023 and refuses to work in Iran due to censorship laws, said he was still feeling the impact of both the war and the protest crackdown during his recent visit to Tehran last week [1, 2]. He remarked, "I was actually in Tehran last week, and I am still carrying the impact of these events with me. Both are deeply painful, and neither will ever be forgotten" [2].

Farhadi’s film "Parallel Tales," performed by a French-language cast, debuted on May 14. He used the platform to issue his rare public condemnation of violence affecting both civilians caught in war and protesters suppressed by the Iranian government [1, 2, 3].