Shirin Neshat Wins Best Director Award at Venice Film Festival

Iranian video artist Shirin Neshat won the Silver Lion for best director for “Women Without Men” at the 66th edition of the Venice film festival on Saturday. The film chronicles the lives of four women from different walks of life against the backdrop of Iran’s foreign-backed coup in 1953.


Shirin Neshat

Thanking the jury for the award, she said this film has been a labor of love for six years. She said it is a film that speaks to the people of Iran fighting to find democracy and it speaks to the government of Iran. She added, “I plead to this government to give the people what they should have – basic human rights, freedom and democracy. Make peace with the people of Iran.”