Crossing borders! Syrian director of 'Last Men in Aleppo' finally granted visa for Oscar ceremony

LOS ANGELES: Kareem Abeed, the producer of Syrian documentary "Last Men in Aleppo", has been granted visa by the US and will attend the Oscar's ceremony on March 4.

The news of Abeed securing a US visa was shared by documentary director Feras Fayyad on Twitter.

"Good news: My producer Kareem Abeed get his visa finally, finger cross that he mange to get in to US now (sic)," wrote Fayyad.

Good news:
My producer kareem abeed get his visa finally, finger cross that he mange to get in to U.S now.

— Feras Fayyad (@ferasfayy) February 28, 2018

Earlier, Abeed, who holds a Syrian passport and is living in Turkey, was denied visa on the grounds of Section 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. It was due to US President Donald Trump's travel ban decision, which placed restrictions on Syria, as well as North Korea, Iran, Chad, Libya, Venezuela, and Yemen.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences had voiced its support to Abeed and said that it stood in solidarity with makers of the ' Last Men in Aleppo', which has been nominated in the Best Documentary Feature category at the Oscars.

'Last Men in Aleppo' focuses on the White Helmets, a search and rescue volunteer organization that has tried to save lives and respond to bombing attacks in the war-torn country.