.jpg "This file photo shows Dariush Mehrjuii posing with a painting of himself, which was unveiled during a ceremony that the Iranian Academy of Arts held on October 20, 2013 to commemorate him. (Tasnim/Mohammad Hassanzadeh)")
TEHRAN – Iranian filmmaker Dariush Mehrjuii received the Chevalier of the Legion of Honor during a ceremony held at the Embassy of France in Tehran on Sunday evening.
The medal, which is the highest decoration awarded by the French government, was presented to Mehrjuii by French Ambassador Bruno Foucher during a ceremony at his residence in Tehran.
Several Iranian cineastes including Asghar Farhadi, Ali Mosaffa, Leila Hatami, Dariush Shayegan, Bita Farahi, Hamed Behdad and Reza Dormishian attended the ceremony.
A graduate of UCLA in philosophy, Mehrjuii is known outside of the country as one of Iran’s new wave directors.
He made his debut film in 1966 with “Diamond 33”. His second film “The Cow” (1969) won the International Critics Prize of the Venice Film Festival in 1971. It was the first award the Iranian motion picture industry ever received in an international event.
Mehrjuii’s “The Cycle”, which was about illegal blood deals, was Iran’s first submission to the Academy Awards in 1978.
After several films on various subjects, Mehrjuii’s films began to spotlight women’s issues. The first was “Hamun” (1990), which was about Hamid Hamun and his wife Mahshid who is leaving him. The film was highly acclaimed by critics during the 1990s.
“Pari”, “Sara”, “Leila”, “Mom’s Guest” and “The Tenants” are among his noteworthy credits.
RM/YAW
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