Thousands of Iranians, including artists, intellectuals, and others have attended the funeral ceremony in Tehran of the country’s top filmmaker, Abbas Kiarostami, who died last week at the age of 76.
Kiarostami, the winner of the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 1997 for Taste Of Cherry, died in Paris, where he had been undergoing medical treatment.
Despite the global attention on his work, Kiarostami did not receive official support in Iran, where his movies were rarely screened.
Some at the memorial service held posters that said “First Welcome, Last Farewell" -- a reference to the lack of official attention he received in the Islamic republic.
"Thank you for not abandoning this land despite all the neglect and lack of gratitude," Oscar-winning film director Asghar Farhadi said at Kiarostami's July 10 memorial service at Tehran's Center for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults.
Kiarostami was later buried in a private ceremony in Lavasan, northeast of Tehran.
His death has been mourned by many, including legendary Hollywood director Martin Scorsese, who has praised Kiarostami's "extraordinary body of work."
