WGA West’s Middle Eastern Writers Committee Stands “In Solidarity” With Iranian Protesters

It appears Britney Spears has made an enemy of the the Iranian government.

The pop star tweeted Sunday, “Me & my husband stand with the people of Iran fighting for freedom.”Spears married Iranian-American actor and model Sam Asghari in June.In response to Spears’ message — which has been retweeted more than 25,000 times — the Islamic Republic News Agency noted that Spears was involuntarily placed under a years-long conservatorship. That arrangement ended last year.“American singer @BritneySpears was placed under her father’s conservatorship in 2008 due to her mental health problems,” the IRNA tweet read.

Iranian protesters have demanded "justice" for a woman who was assaulted by anti-riot police, with one officer forcibly grabbing her bottom and then pushing her on the ground.  The video, captured on a security camera at the Argentina Square in Tehran on Wednesday, shows police surrounding the woman. When they start to cart her away, one officer grabs the woman’s bottom before she drops to her knees.  Another woman can be heard saying that the officers were pulling the victim’s hair as she knelt on the ground.  Tehran’s Police Public Relations office has said the incident will be investigated, the BBC reported, but the police provided no statement as to what might have happened.

Mani Haghighi is the latest film director who has been impacted by Iran’s ongoing restraint on filmmakers.

Iranian filmmaker Mani Haghighi will no longer attend the London Film Festival premiere of his latest film Subtraction after authorities stopped him from boarding a flight to London. 

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Iranian filmmaker Mani Haghighi had his passport confiscated at the airport as he was about to board a flight to attend the BFI London Film Festival. Haghighi was expected to present there the U.K. premiere of his latest film, “Subtraction.”  A BFI London Film Festival spokesperson confirmed the news to Variety and issued the following statement: “The Iranian filmmaker Mani Haghighi was due to travel to London today to support the UK premiere of his film Subtraction which is screening tomorrow at the BFI London Film Festival, but has been prevented from boarding his flight to the UK.  He was turned away by authorities in Iran and has his passport confiscated.  He has returned to his home in Tehran. We understand that no reason has been given to Mani Haghighi for the confiscation. The BFI London Film Festival supports Haghighi and all filmmakers in their freedom to make their films and present them around the world.

Sevdaliza has released a new song in support of women in Iran, amid ongoing protests there, called ‘Woman Life Freedom’.“I wrote a song for oppressed women around the world”, she says. “I stand proud as an Iranian woman and I am supporting the fight of my sisters who shed their blood, hair, hearts and brains to give us all the hope, that one day, we will be free”.“At a young age I became aware of the systematic means of forcing women into obedience through violence and intimidation”, she goes on.

Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., drew comparisons between women risking their lives to protest Islamic law in Iran to women fighting for abortion rights in the United States. During a campaign rally to re-elect Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison on Friday, Omar said pro-life Republicans are challenging women’s bodily autonomy, much like Iran’s oppressive clerical regime led by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Jem Aswad Senior Music Editor One of the new honors the Grammy Awards will introduce at their next ceremony is song for social change — a special-merit award that “recognizes creators of message-driven music that responds to the social issues of our time and has the potential for positive global impact.” While the honor is “curated by a blue-ribbon committee,” there’s little question that the number of submissions will have an impact — and according to the Recording Academy, 95,000 of the 115,000 submissions received have been for Iranian musician Shervin Hajipour’s song, “Baraye,” a protest song about 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who died in police custody after being arrested and beaten by Iran’s so-called morality police for not wearing a proper head covering, in line with the country’s Islamic law.

Dua Lipa has expressed support for the women of Iran following protests in the nation. The Levitating singer took to Instagram on Saturday to bring attention to the demonstrations, which have been staged to highlight the death of Mahsa Amini. Last month, the 22-year-old passed away in a hospital in Tehran under suspicious circumstances.

Dua Lipa has shared her support for women in Iran following a number of recent protests in the country.The musician posted on Instagram yesterday (October 8) to share a post about the recent deaths of young women in Iran as protests continue following the death of Masha Amini, 22.Amini died in Tehran earlier last month (September 16) after being arrested for not wearing her hijab in accordance with government standards. Police claimed she suffered heart failure at the station, although witnesses have claimed Amini was severely beaten by the authorities.Lipa shared a number of photos of women who have also since died on Instagram.

a United Nations report, Amini was arrested on Sept. 13 and taken to a morality «re-education center» in Tehran where, per Iranian authorities, she died of a heart attack three days later.

It’s Friday, you’re starting to think of the weekend, so it must be Insider time. Join me once again as the Deadline International team cast a critical eye over the big news stories this week. Read on.

Juliette Binoche, Marion Cotillard, Isabelle Huppert and other French actresses have cut their hair in solidarity with Iranian women. The trio joined 50 other French cinema icons such as Isabelle Adjani, Charlotte Gainsbourg and Alexandra Lamy to give themselves a haircut to express their support for the widespread civil unrest in Iran that was kickstarted by the state-sanctioned killing of the 22-year-old activist Mahsa Amini after she refused to follow the law forcing women to don the hijab on September 16. The video - which was hashtagged with the phrase Hair For Freedom and was posted on Wednesday (05.

Marion Cotillard and Juliette Binoche have shown solidarity with Iranian protesters by filming themselves cutting off pieces of their hair. In recent weeks, protesters in Iran - and subsequently all over the world - have been cutting off a lock of hair to protest the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in September. She died shortly after being detained by Iran's morality police for wearing her hijab too loosely and showing some hair.

Marion Cotillard, Juliette Binoche, Isabelle Huppert and a handful of female actresses and singers from France are lending their support to the people of Iran amid the mass protests following the death of Mahsa Amini.Amini, 22, was killed by Iran's morality police on Sept. 16 for improperly wearing her hijab — a violation of the country's strict dress codes for women in public.According to a United Nations report, Amini was arrested on Sept. 13 and taken to a morality «re-education center» in Tehran where, per Iranian authorities, she died of a heart attack three days later.

and Juliette Binoche expressed support for women in Iran by chopping off their hair.Last month, women across Iran against the country's oppressive standards for women following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who died in police custody on September 16. Amini was detained by Iran's morality police for wearing a hijab improperly.

More than 50 French female artists from the worlds of cinema and music have symbolically cut their hair in a video campaign showing support for the ongoing protests in Iran calling for more freedom for women following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Award-winning filmmakers Alice Diop (“Saint Omer”), Audrey Diwan (“Happening”), Julia Ducournau (“Titane”), Michel Hazanavicius (“The Artist”), Jacques Audiard (“Dheepan”), and actors Juliette Binoche, Marion Cotillard, Isabelle Huppert, Lea Seydoux are among nearly 1,000 prominent French film figures who have signed an open letter to support Iranian women and civil rights activists in their revolt over the death of 22 year-old Mahsa Amini, as well as denounce the “murderous violence” of the Iranian regime. Amini, a Kurdish woman, died in custody on Sept. 16, three days after being arrested in Tehran because she allegedly breached the Islamic republic’s strict dress code for women. Her death has sparked protests across Iran, including in Tehran, Isfahan and Yazd, and in cities around the world, including in Paris, Istanbul and Los Angeles. Amnesty International said Iranian authorities have been “intentionally using lethal force against the protesters,” causing more than more 52 deaths (as of Sept. 30). The organization has urged international action “beyond statements of condemnation” to prevent more people from being killed.