Iran: filmmaker Dariush Mehrjui and his spouse stabbed to loss of life of their dwelling

An excellent determine in Iranian cinema, Dariush Mehrjui, was discovered lifeless on the night time of Saturday October 14, together with his spouse Vahideh Mohammadifar, screenwriter and set designer. “In the course of the preliminary investigation, we discovered that Dariush Mehrjui and his spouse, Vahideh Mohammadifar, had been killed by a number of stab wounds to the neck”, introduced the top of justice of the province of Alborz, near Tehran, Hossein Fazeli-Harikandi, cited by the justice company Mizan On-line. It was the director’s daughter, Mona, who found the inanimate our bodies within the night.

The Minister of Tradition, Mohammad-Mehdi Esmaïli, declared in a press launch that he had requested “ clarification on the circumstances of this unhappy and painful incident “. If for the second, the circumstances of their loss of life nonetheless stay unclear, the Iranian media reported that Vahideh Mohammadifar lately advised the unbiased every day “Etemaad” that she had been threatened by a person and that their dwelling had been burglarized. “The investigation confirmed that no complaints had been filed concerning the unlawful entry into the Mehrjoui household villa and the theft of their property”, added the top of justice of the province of Alborz. Within the night, the native Isna company, citing the police, reported 4 suspects recognized, two of whom had been arrested.

A censored filmmaker

Aged 83, the filmmaker directed “The Cow” in 1969, a movie with a robust social dimension and one of many first of the brand new wave of Iranian cinema, rewarded with the jury prize on the Venice Movie Competition in 1971. In a press launch, the Minister of Tradition paid tribute to “ one of many pioneers of Iranian cinema” and “the creator of everlasting works ».

As a director, producer and screenwriter, he was confronted with censorship for six a long time, earlier than and after the Islamic revolution of 1979. Following this, Dariush Mehrjui spent a couple of years in France, the place he directed the docu-fiction “The Journey to the land of Rimbaud”, earlier than returning to dwell in Iran in 1986, the place he triumphed on the field workplace with “The Tenants” (1987). A movie which follows the adventures of a dilapidated constructing the place many tenants dwell, confronted with the intransigence of an unknown proprietor and his actual property agent. He has been nominated six instances for the Fajr Movie Competition, an Iranian occasion rewarding native productions.