Venice winner Laleh Marzban faces state media backlash after Iran dedication
Laleh Marzban has been accused of treason by Iranian state media after dedicating her Venice Best Actress prize to the women of Iran.
Marzban won the award in Orizzonti, Venice's second competition section for new and experimental cinema, for her lead role in Mohsen Gharaei's drama Falling House (Mogareb), according to Deadline. The prize was presented during the closing ceremony of the 83rd Venice International Film Festival on 12 September.
She told the ceremony that Iran and its people were going through "the hardest days". She then added: "I dedicate my award to the women of my country who have paid the highest price for the smallest freedoms."
Falling House follows three generations of women in a poor family controlled by a prison guard father. Marzban plays the oldest daughter. Her father locks her up after learning that she plans to leave Iran to train as a model.
She appears on screen both with and without a hijab. That choice is central to the reaction inside Iran.
The backlash came quickly. A television channel aligned with the Basij, the paramilitary volunteer militia within the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, accused Marzban of turning her back on Iran. Other regime-backed outlets accused her of treason and said the Ministry of Culture should bar her from returning to the country.
Actress Zhila Sadeghi, known for her work with state broadcaster IRIB, also attacked Marzban. Sadeghi criticised her for not dedicating the speech to children reported killed in a US missile strike on an elementary school in Minab on 28 February, and said she had betrayed Iran.
Gharaei wrote the first draft of Falling House in 2018. He has said the Woman Life Freedom protests of 2022 gave him fresh impetus to get the film made.
Marzban is an established screen actor in Iran. Her credits include The Night Guardian, Iran's submission for the Oscars in 2023.
What makes this stand out is the speed with which a festival prize became a domestic political dispute. An acting award in Venice now shapes the discussion around whether Marzban can continue to work in Iran.
