Mohammad Misses Out on Oscar; 'Islamophobia Hindered Film's Success'

With the announcement of the names of 9 films, the nominees for the non-English language category of the Oscars were introduced, among which the name 'Mohammad' directed by Majid Majidi is conspicuously absent. In the initial list of nominees for the best non-English language film, 9 films from countries such as Belgium, Hungary, France, and even Jordan and Colombia are listed, with the final 5 films of this competition to be announced on January 14, 2016. Seven of the 9 films in the initial list are European, and no films from North America, East Asia, or Africa made it to this list. According to the official Oscars website, the films 'The New Testament' by Jaco Van Dormael from Belgium, 'Embrace of the Serpent' by Ciro Guerra from Colombia, 'A War' by Tobias Lindholm from Denmark, 'The Fencer' by Klaus Haro from Finland, 'Mustang' by Deniz Gamze Ergüven from France, 'Labyrinth of Lies' by Giulio Ricciarelli from Germany, 'Son of Saul' by László Nemes from Hungary, 'Viva' by Paddy Breathnach from Ireland, and 'Theeb' by Naji Abu Nowar from Jordan are the 9 films in the initial list of nominees for the non-English language Oscar category. The high-budget and highly publicized film 'Mohammad' directed by Majid Majidi, which was introduced by Iran for the Oscars, ultimately failed to attract the Academy members' attention for entry into this category. Majid Majidi had previously been nominated for the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film in 1997 for his film 'Children of Heaven.' Iranian cinema has only won the Oscar for Best Non-English Language Film once, in 2012, with 'A Separation' by Asghar Farhadi. Last year, the film 'Today' directed by Reza Mirkarimi was introduced by Iran for the Oscars. In the 2015 Oscars, the film 'Ida' directed by Pawel Pawlikowski from Poland ultimately won the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar. Reasons for Failure: 'Islamophobia' and 'Lack of a Strong Distributor' The exclusion of the film 'Mohammad' by the Academy of Oscars elicited reactions from the film's producers and the director of international affairs at the Farabi Cinema Foundation. Amir Esfandiari, the international director of the Farabi Foundation and spokesperson for the film selection committee for the Oscars, stated in an interview with ISNA on Saturday, December 19, regarding the exclusion of 'Mohammad': 'One of the main reasons is the absence of a strong distributor in the United States to present the film in a way that all Academy members can see it.' This expert in the international field of Iranian cinema further added: 'Another reason is the atmosphere of Islamophobia that has intensified in recent months; however, this does not mean that all academic members are influenced by this atmosphere, but the overall global environment naturally has its impact.' In this context, the film company 'Noor Tabaan,' as the investor, producer, and distributor of the film 'Mohammad,' issued a statement following the film's failure to reach the Oscar nominees. Part of this statement read: 'The filmmakers emphasize that the esteemed Academy of Oscars has denied a special opportunity regarding the threats of fake Islam by not introducing this great film to American society.' The final nominees for the 88th Oscars will be announced on January 14, 2016, and the final ceremony will be held on February 28, 2016, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood. In this context, 'Mohammad' was introduced by Iran for the 2016 Oscars. The Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia harshly criticized the film 'Mohammad' by Majid Majidi. The film, with a budget of 100 billion tomans, began screening in Iran and Canada.