ajid Majidi, the internationally acclaimed Iranian film director, has added another accolade to his career with an award at the Busan International Film Festival.

His film Midday Meal deals with the bombing and massacre of schoolchildren in Minab. The war involving the United States and Israel has brought home the scale of the tragedy, in which even innocent children have been treated as legitimate targets of missile attacks.

Majidi is no stranger to films that come close to documentary in their treatment of reality. His film about the Prophet of Islam, for instance, demonstrated how aesthetic concerns can transcend different forms of cinema.

Majidi is no ordinary filmmaker. His primary concern is to create an aesthetic experience that moves the heart and goes beyond mere description. Even in his documentaries, his sensitive response to the human condition is evident. Perhaps his greatest strength is that he does not overstate his case but allows the film to speak for itself.

Without being overtly political, as some filmmakers tend to be, the human concerns embedded in his work remain central to
his creativity. In recent months, the scale of violence unleashed on the peoples of the
Middle East has left much of the world
stunned.

Majidi is among the directors whose work has drawn international attention to a form of filmmaking grounded in the everyday realities of ordinary lives. Stripped of unnecessary embellishment, his films tell human stories with compelling force. Audiences around the world have been moved and intrigued by this approach, prompting questions about whether other filmmakers could follow it. For decades, the rise of Iranian cinema has been a subject of discussion among those who value a form of filmmaking distinct from Hollywood’s formulaic productions.

Majidi has also visited Pakistan, where he was asked about this alternative style of cinema in a country often perceived as restrictive of artistic expression.

An unassuming man, he spoke about the support he received from state institutions without compromising his commitment to artistic truth. This approach offers a contrast to the model of cinema as a private enterprise, judged largely by its box-office returns.

Majidi’s best-known films include Children of Heaven, The Colour of Paradise, The Song of Sparrows and Baran. His work demonstrates that experience has not dulled his creative instinct or led him into repetition.

The international community has responded to what the writer describes as genocide and unjustified aggression, prompting an outpouring of artistic expression. Majidi’s decision to lend his voice to this cause is significant. As the tragedy continues, the world’s conscience, stirred by such expressions of solidarity, will remain a measure of how humanity responds to violence.

The writer is a culture critic based in Lahore.