Oscars organisers respond to Donald Trump's Muslim ban that may stop Iranian director attending ceremony

The Academy finds the ban 'extremely troubling'

Filmmaker Asghar Farhadi wins Best Foreign Film Award for A Separation in 2012 (Getty Images)

The organisers of the Oscars have responded to reports President Donald Trump’s “extremely troubling” Muslim ban will keep the Iranian director of a nominated film from attending the awards ceremony.

Asghar Farhadi, director of The Salesman, will no longer be able to attend the LA Ceremony following Trump’s decision to ban nationals from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the US.

A spokesperson for The Academy said: “As supporters of film-makers – and the human rights of all people – around the globe, we find it extremely troubling that Asghar Farhadi, the director of the Oscar-winning film from Iran A Separation, along with the cast and crew of this year’s Oscar-nominated film The Salesman, could be barred from entering the country because of their religion or country of origin.”

The Academy added they celebrate film-making “which seeks to transcend borders and speak to audiences around the world, regardless of national, ethnic, or religious differences”.

Farhadi’s film is nominated in the Foreign Language category alongside Land of Mine (Denmark), Toni Erdmann (Germany), A Man Called Ove (Sweden) and Tanna (Australia).

The film follows a high school teacher (Shahab Hosseini) who seeks revenge against the perpetrator who attacked his wife (Taraneh Alidoosti) in their apartment. The director made awards history in 2012 when his film A Separation became the first Iranian film to win an Oscar.

Thousands of people joined demonstrations at airports across America to protest over Trump’s immigration ban on Muslims following the ban being signed, while a judge has ordered a stay for people who have arrived with valid visas.