Prominent Iranian director Dariush Mehrjui and his wife stabbed to death
Los Angeles. Iran’s most prominent filmmaker Dariush Mehrjui and his wife were stabbed to death in their home.
Iranian officials say 83-year-old filmmaker Dariush Mehrjui and his wife Vahideh Mohammadifar were found with knife wounds in their home near the capital Tehran on Saturday evening, BBC.com reports.
Mehrjui was considered one of the founders of Iranian New Wave cinema. According to local media reports, four people have been identified in connection with the deaths.
According to Chief Justice Hossein Fazeli, Mehrjui had invited his daughter to his home in the city of Karaj for dinner on Saturday night.
It was said that as soon as she arrived, she found the bodies of her parents. Screenwriter and costume designer Mohammadifar reportedly recently complained that she was threatened and had her house burgled.
Iranian actor and director Houman Seyedi was among those who reacted to the killings on social media, describing them as “horrible and cruel”.
Mehrjui studied in the US as a young man and later lived in France for five years, first achieving national and international fame with his 1969 film ‘The Cow’.
His other most notable films include ‘Hamoun’, ‘The Pear Tree’ and ‘Leela’. These films are about a woman who encourages her husband to marry for the second time.
The New Wave movement primarily focused on realism but Mehrjui was known to draw inspiration from literature.
He has received many awards over the years. But, while his films were celebrated at international film festivals, some did not see the light of day in Iran due to censorship. (IANS)
