The ban has since been halted by judicial decisions, but Farhadi has maintained his position.

So weve asked ourselves: What can cinema do?

We believe there is no best country, best gender, best religion or best color.

foreign-filmmakers

Credit: Greg Doherty/Getty Images; Gabriel Olsen/FilmMagic; Allen Berezovsky/WireImage

Human rights are not something you have to apply for.

They simply exist for everybody.

By dedicating the Oscar to them, we wish to express to them our deep respect and solidarity.