"I spoke to him yesterday," Farhadi told journalists at Wednesday's press conference, asking for his microphone back after the moderator had ended the event. "I would like to send out this message: I hope that the decision will be taken for him to be allowed to come. ...What's important for him is not to be able to catch a flight, but for him to be able to see how spectators view his film. … It's a very strange feeling for me to be able to be here whereas he cannot be here. It's wonderful that he's continued his work in the face of such adversity."

Source: Los Angeles Times May 09, 2018 18:00 UTC