Before the 1979 Revolution, an independent film sector existed alongside government-financed films

By Kevin Hagopian, Senior Lecturer of Media Studies, Pennsylvania State University. Politics loom over this year’s Oscars, with many bracing for what the winners will – or won’t – say when they ascend the stage before millions of television viewers on Feb. 26. One nominee, however, has already made a statement. Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi’s “The…