A ceremony to celebrate Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi's Oscar win has been cancelled over a permit dispute.
The A Separation director was to be feted in his homeland after picking up Iran's first Best Foreign Film Academy Award last month (Feb12), but the event has been scrapped after government officials mysteriously refused a permit for the gala.
Reports suggest many top conservative politicians were uncomfortable with certain themes in the courtroom drama.
Officials at the Center for Directors of Iranian Cinema and the High Council of Producers of Iranian Cinema have released a joint statement which reads, "We intended to have a simple and friendly meeting to say thank you... but the cultural custodians did not let us realize this."