The Fajr Film Festival has been held in Iran's capital Tehran since 1982, and this year has been boycotted by many filmmakers.

Cinema and television actress Haniye Tavaslı announced that she boycotted the festival in a statement she posted on her Instagram account.

Tavaslı condemned the murder of Jîna Amini and spoke about her latest film, ‘Why are you not crying?’, saying: " I have cried a lot in the last few months [because of what is happening] and I don't have the strength to attend the festival".

She went on to say that she supports the protests that have been going on since 16 September 2022, and added that it was not her decision to have the film participating in the festival and called for a boycott of the event.