'The Fajr Film Festival has been taking place for at least 40 years. Like many filmmakers, I have attended numerous times. It was here that I met Theo Angelopoulos and received an award from Béla Tarr’s jury. Only a few months ago, I conducted a masterclass in Tehran and realized how valuable these encounters are for young filmmakers and cinema students living in Iran,' he shared his thoughts. Ceylan continued his statement by expressing his observation of the energy in young filmmakers: 'I saw an extraordinary spark in the youth, something I rarely see elsewhere. Iran is a dynamic society with an extraordinary cinema from which I have learned a lot.' The director pointed out that filmmakers in Iran continue to create despite challenging circumstances: 'Filmmakers living in Iran continue to make films and seek a path forward, no matter how difficult and complex the conditions are. They need more hope and such meetings than others.' Ceylan approached calls for boycotts with caution, stating, 'Boycotting a festival can certainly be understood as a form of resistance, but depriving the people living there of films to be shown or such gatherings, whatever the reason, feels like punishing them, and this does not seem right to me.' Lastly, he reminded that festivals are often subject to political debates, adding: 'Every festival is shaped around complex political dynamics. Today, there are hardly any festivals that exist without the support of the state. However, refusing to participate for political reasons seems like sacrificing art to politics.' He concluded his statement by emphasizing that attending festivals does not mean supporting governments: 'If we force festivals and the art lovers living there to bear the burden of governments' sins, there would be very few festivals left in the world exempt from boycotts. In my view, participation in festivals should not be interpreted as supporting governments, but should be seen as a way to transcend the boundaries created by political regimes among people, affirming culture and art as something above politics.'