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First Female Space Tourist, NASA Executive to Represent Iran at Oscars

Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi has chosen two prominent Iranian Americans, engineer Anousheh Ansari, known as the first female space tourist, and Dr. Firouz Naderi, the former director of Solar Systems Exploration at NASA, to represent his film “The Salesman” at the upcoming Oscars ceremony.

Farhadi, whose “The Salesman” is nominated for the foreign-language film Oscar, had announced several weeks ago that he would boycott the Oscars ceremony to protest US President Trump’s travel ban, even if exceptions were made to allow him entry to the US.

The film’s French producer, Alexandre Mallet-Guy, said in an email two days ago that he had decided not to attend the ceremony in solidarity with the director, and that nobody from the film would attend. He also said Farhadi would not be doing interviews if the film won.

The decision to ask two prominent Iranian Americans with no ties to the film world to represent him during Sunday’s ceremony suggests that Farhadi intends to maintain a close rapport with the US, where “The Salesman” is currently on release via Cohen Media Group, Variety reported.

Farhadi’s publicist did not comment on the possibility that Mrs. Anousheh Ansari and Dr. Firouz Naderi would relay a statement from Mr. Farhadi, or whether a Skype link-up with Mr. Farhadi in Iran was a conceivable option in the event of an Oscar victory.

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