Mohsen Makhmalbaf's Return to the Jerusalem International Film Festival

Haaretz has reported that renowned Iranian director Mohsen Makhmalbaf is returning to Israel to participate in an Israeli film festival. Makhmalbaf has been invited as one of the 'distinguished guests and personalities of world cinema' to attend the Jerusalem International Film Festival. This ten-day festival, now in its thirty-fourth edition, will kick off on Thursday, July 13, featuring 180 films from Israel and sixty countries worldwide. According to the Israeli newspaper, Makhmalbaf will be joined by famous filmmakers such as Claude Lanzmann, Philippe Garrel, Agnès Varda, and others at the festival. Makhmalbaf, who filmed 'The Gardener' in the stunning Bahá'í gardens alongside his son in Israel, was also a guest at the Jerusalem Film Festival in 2013. His presence in Israel four years ago angered the Islamic Republic, but at the same time, 150 Iranians worldwide criticized him for ignoring the calls of the boycott movement against Israel, labeling his trip a 'political act' and urging him to refrain from participating in Israeli cultural events. Makhmalbaf had responded at the time, stating he was aware he would face a wave of accusations, such as being labeled a CIA and Mossad spy. He was again invited by the Haifa Film Festival in October 2015 and served as the head of the jury at that festival. Israelis have been familiar with Makhmalbaf's cinematic works for many years. Films like 'Hello Cinema' and 'Kandahar' were screened in commercial cinemas and cinematheques in Israel long before he left Iran. The screening of Makhmalbaf's films and those of several other prominent Iranian filmmakers in recent decades in Israel was due to the involvement of non-Iranian partners in the production of these films. Makhmalbaf's recent films, including 'The Dictator,' also received much acclaim from critics during their screenings in Israel. This year at the Jerusalem Film Festival, '24 Frames,' the last film co-produced by the renowned Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami and French cinema, will be screened; Kiarostami passed away around this time last year. Haaretz described Makhmalbaf as 'one of the most influential filmmakers in the history of Iranian cinema who has been exiled from his country in recent years,' and Abbas Kiarostami as 'a great credit to world cinema.' The 60-year-old Makhmalbaf left Iran twelve years ago, shortly after Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's presidency began. In 2013, when multiple reports in the media discussed the possibility of an Israeli attack on Iran's nuclear facilities, he urged Israel in interviews with its media not to consider attacking Iran and to support 'democratic forces' in Iran. He also mentioned that due to a film he made about the Iranian leadership's headquarters, there were plans to assassinate him in Paris, forcing him to change his residence multiple times. Makhmalbaf has also expressed support for the Palestinian cause for independence in an interview with Al Arabiya, stating that the people of Iran also see dialogue as a means to achieve peace for the Palestinians. He said, 'Peace for the Palestinians will not come through war and rocket fire; wars have always been the desire of leaders, and nations are always the victims.' Makhmalbaf told Al Arabiya, 'A child, whether Palestinian or Israeli, has the right to live, and I embrace both of them.'