In 2008, Majidi’s acclaimed film The Song of Sparrows was the opening film of the Visakhapatnam International Film Festival in India.Majidi was one of five international film directors invited by the Beijing government to create a documentary short film to introduce the city of Beijing, in preparation for the 2008 Summer Olympics which was held in the Chinese capital; the project was titled “Vision Beijing”.Majidi pulled out of a Danish film festival in protest against the publication in Denmark of cartoons satirizing the Islamic prophet, Muhammad. He stated that he was withdrawing “to protest against insulting any religious belief or icon”.