BUSAN -- Iranian director Majid Majidi won the top prize at the 31st Busan International Film Festival for Midday Meal, using his acceptance speech to condemn the civilian toll of the U.S.-led war on Iran and dedicate the award to the Iranian people, drawing formal commendations from senior Iranian officials.
Majidi’s drama about a village teacher forced into fuel smuggling to keep his school open was chosen by a jury led by Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yimou, festival organizers said Thursday. 
The win automatically qualifies the film for the Academy Awards’ best international feature category under revised Academy rules, providing a route to the Oscars independent of Iran’s official national submission.
Accepting the award at the Busan Cinema Center, Majidi said 168 children were martyred when a school in Minab was struck on the first day of what he described as U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran. 
“On the very first day of this war in Iran, a school in Minab was hit, and 168 innocent students were killed. Even now, some of the bodies have not been found,” he said.
“What crime have our people committed? There is nothing except that our people want to be independent. They will stand firm until the end,” Majidi said. He dedicated the prize to “the brave heroes of Iran — the people of Iran, who have stood firm through all these years and are still resisting oppression”.
Earlier at the festival, Majidi said he had nearly declined the invitation to travel to South Korea because he felt “depressed and exhausted” by the situation at home, but decided the trip would allow him to convey “some kind of small message from my people to the people of other nations”. 
He also revealed his mother had died a few months before filming began, saying: “I believe it is thanks to the love and energy given by my mother. The protagonist of my films is my mother”.
Iranian Parliament Speaker Muhammad Bagher Ghalibaf issued a message praising Majidi’s “courageous, intelligent stance on the global stage,” saying the director demonstrated that “the authentic Iranian artist is the mirror of truth and the eloquent voice of the nation’s ideals”.
Ghalibaf said the dedication of the award to “the proud and resilient