Mohammad Rasoulof, Shahrbanoo Sadat Push Back on Idea of Separate Oscar Category for Exiled Filmmakers as Cate Blanchett’s Displacement Film Fund Hits Tokyo

Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof and Iranian-born Afghan director Shahrbanoo Sadat pushed back on the idea of a standalone Oscar category for exiled filmmakers, speaking at the Tokyo International Film Festival as Cate Blanchett’s Displacement Film Fund gave its first five short films their Japan premiere.

The question followed the Academy’s recent rule change making exiled filmmakers eligible for the Oscars. The Academy’s top leadership was present at the festival this week.

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“I really do not like to be labeled, and even this label is displaced, you know, because I’m not seeing myself like I’m Shahrbanoo Sadat, the displaced filmmaker. This is funny, this is a joke to me,” said Sadat, whose fund-backed short is “Super Afghan Gym.” “I’m not sure if I would love to be in the category of displaced, even if they give me the Oscar.”

Rasoulof, who directed the fund’s “The Sense of Water,” said that as a filmmaker he wanted to put all his energy into making films, and that from that point of view it might not matter much where they are shown.