TEHRAN -- World-renowned filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami, who is suffering repercussions from several operations for his severe gastrointestinal disease, left Iran on Monday to receive additional treatment at a hospital in Paris.

An air ambulance owned by MK2, the producer of Kiarostami’s latest film, transferred him to Paris, the Persian service of ISNA reported on Tuesday.

Earlier last week, he was admitted to Tehran’s Arad Hospital and underwent an operation, but he and his family decided that further medical treatment should be pursued in Paris, the report added, but gave no name for the Parisian hospital. 

Kiarostami, 76, was hospitalized in mid-March at Tehran’s Jam Hospital and underwent several operations. Although he didn’t recover fully, he left the hospital late in April.  
 
The filmmaker is famous as an artist who stayed in Iran after the Islamic Revolution of 1979, while others chose to live abroad.

Kiarostami achieved international recognition for Iranian cinema after his “Taste of Cherry” won the Palme d’Or at Cannes in 1997.

Photo: World-renowned filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami in an undated photo

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