Shahab Hosseini, who has won Best Actor awards at the Cannes and Berlin film festivals, was awarded the Chevalier of the Legion of Honor by French Ambassador Philippe Thiébaud in a ceremony at the French Embassy in Tehran in February 2020, and dedicated his achievement to Iranian people.
The Chevalier Medal is awarded to artists for their artistic or literary creativity or their contribution to the brilliance of art and literature in France and worldwide. In the ceremony, Hosseini expressed his gratitude, stating, “I thank God for this beautiful night. The name of France has always been intertwined with art, literature, and culture. I’ve visited France twice and witnessed many of its beauties. I’m also happy to have two half-French nieces and feel a kinship with the French people. I admire the works of the great French writer, Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt, and have worked on two of his plays. I am grateful to the French Ministry of Culture and the Ambassador for considering me deserving of this medal. My wish is to use the love inherent in art to bring people closer together. Although politics often seeks to create division, art can unite people globally. I hope that, as a Chevalier, I can fulfill my duties as an artist and as a human.”
Previously, other prominent Iranian figures such as Mohammad Reza Shajarian (singer), Abbas Kiarostami (director and photographer), Dariush Shayegan (writer and poet), Leila Hatami (actress), Yadollah Royai (poet), Shahram Nazeri (singer), Asghar Farhadi (director), Mohammad Ali Sepanlou (poet and translator), Gholam Hossein Amirkhani (calligrapher), Lily Golestan (gallery owner), Mahmoud Dowlatabadi (writer), Dariush Mehrjui (director), and Kambiz Derambakhsh (graphic artist and cartoonist) have received the Chevalier Medal. Notably, Iranian musician and composer Hossein Alizadeh is one of the few artists who declined the Chevalier Medal, stating in a letter that he feels no need for any kind of honorific and that being Hossein Alizadeh is enough for him.
The Legion of Honor is France’s highest decoration, established by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1802. Since 1815, it has been divided into five degrees (lower to higher): Chevalier (Knight), Officier (Officer), Commandeur (Commander), Grand Officier (Grand Officer) and Grand Croix (Grand Cross). Membership in the Legion of Honor is restricted to French nationals. The Chevalier Medal, awarded by the French Ministry of Culture to artists and writers, has over 50 years of history. It is one of the three ranks within the French Order of Arts and Letters, established in 1957 by the then French Minister of Culture.
