Iranian filmmakers head to the Oscars as war engulfs their country | CNN

Two Oscar-nominated Iranian films will have a moment on the global stage at Sunday’s Academy Awards as Hollywood contends with how to address a fraught political reality on a night often seen as a celebration of escapism. The films, documentary feature “Cutting Through Rocks” and best international film nominee “It Was Just an Accident,” have propelled Iran into one of its most prominent awards seasons in recent memory. The former is the first Iranian documentary ever nominated for best documentary feature. The nominations arrived in January against an already charged political backdrop, as the Iranian government violently cracked down on protesters, killing thousands. When Hollywood’s biggest stars gather Sunday for the annual awards show it will be more than two weeks into an unpopular war launched against the country by the US and Israel. Mohammadreza Eyni and Sara Khaki, the husband-and-wife directing duo behind “Cutting Through Rocks,” said celebrating the documentary’s success had been difficult amid the turmoil, speaking to CNN’s Chief International Anchor Christiane Amanpour before the start of the war. The film is about a rural midwife and motorcycle ri