February 25, 2018

Alejandro González Iñárritu Thinks the ‘Last Men in Aleppo’ Crew Should ‘Absolutely’ Be Allowed to Attend the Oscars — Watch

Alejandro González Iñárritu is one of only three filmmakers to win the Academy Award for Best Director two years in a row, which is to say he knows a good deal about attending the actual ceremony. And though he isn’t the type of celebrity you expect TMZ to ambush at the airport with timely questions, he was nevertheless asked his opinion on the Oscar-nominated “Last Men in Aleppo” crew being denied visas to make their way to next week’s ceremony — and thinks they “absolutely” should be allowed to.

“I didn’t know that. It’s insane,” a clearly surprised Iñárritu says when first asked about the situation. “Absolutely, I think so — unless the directors are considered criminals,” which they’re not. Syria will not expedite the travel visas of producer Kareem Abeed and star Mahmoud Al-Hattar, making it extremely unlikely they’ll be able to attend. “When we are banned, then the freedom of expression is banned,” the film’s director, Feras Fayyad, recently told IndieWire, referring to the situation as “very sad and unfair.”

Fayyad has also said that he may skip the Oscars in solidarity with Abeed and Al-Hattar.

Source: IndieWire film