Iranian film director Dariush Mehrjui, wife stabbed to death: State media
Mehrjui, 83, the recipient of many awards, was known as the cofounder of Iran’s film new wave in the early 1970s that mainly focused on realism
An unknown assailant stabbed to death noted Iranian film director Dariush Mehrjui and his wife at their home, the state media reported on Sunday (October 15).
Mehrjhi and his wife, Vahideh Mohammadifar, were found dead with knife wounds in their necks, the official IRNA news agency quoted Hossein Fazeli, a judiciary official, as saying.
The director’s daughter, Mona Mehrjui, found the bodies when she went to visit her father on Saturday night, Fazeli said. The couple lived in a suburb about 30 km west of the capital, Tehran.
Wife had complained of threat
The report said authorities were investigating the murders and gave no speculation on a motive, though the wife had complained about a knife threat on social media in recent weeks.
Mehrjui, 83, was known as the cofounder of Iran’s film new wave in the early 1970s that mainly focused on realism. He received many awards, including a Silver Hugo from the Chicago International Film Festival in 1998 and a Golden Seashell at the San Sebastian International Film Festival 1993.
Mehrjui studied in the cinema programme at the University of California, Los Angeles, in the early 1960s.
(With agency inputs)