ITEHRAN (Iran News) –Oscar-winning Iranian director Asghar Farhadi has been exonerated in a case that accused him of plagiarizing his latest move A Hero.

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TEHRAN (Iran News) –The 52nd Belgrade International Film Festival has conferred its Belgrade Victor Award for Outstanding Contribution to Film Art on globally acclaimed Iranian movie director and screenwriter Asghar Farhadi.

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Film Movement Classics has carried out the restoration and will release the film digitally on October 13 following last month’s release of Farhadi’s 2003 drama “Dancing in the Dust,” ISNA reported.

The film synopsis reads: “After spending two years in juvenile detention for killing his girlfriend as a teenager, the troubled young Akbar is transferred to an adult facility shortly after turning 18. No longer a minor, his death sentence will soon be legally carried out. Meanwhile outside, Ala – Akbar’s friend and newly paroled petty thief – along with Akbar’s sister Firoozeh set out to convince the victim’s bereaved father to forgive Akbar, which could potentially reduce his sentence from death to life in prison. The two form a close bond in their desperate attempts to seek clemency before it is too late.

The 101-minute film is a story of forgiveness, revenge, and salvation. “Beautiful City” thoughtfully peels back the layers of each character’s motivations, only to pierce through to the most honest and irrational motivation of them all: love.

The film captured the Grand Prix at the Warsaw International Film Festival, and Golden Peacock for the best film at the 35th International Film Festival of India in 2004. It also son FIPRESCI Prize at Split Film Festival in 2005.

Taraneh Alidoosti, Faramarz Gharibian, Babak Ansari, Hossein Farzizadeh, Ahu Kheradmand, and Farhad Ghaemian are the cast.

Farhadi, 51, is considered one of the most prominent filmmakers of Iranian cinema as well as world cinema in the 21st century. His films have gained fame for their focus on the human condition, and portrayals intimate and challenging stories of internal family conflicts.

The strength of Farhadi’s directing and screenwriting is well acclaimed and known to all and his prizes in these categories are indeed undeniable proof of this claim. Moreover, actors playing in his films present their best performance; this is partly due to their great abilities and also the skills in Farhadi in eliciting and encouraging those potentials.

At the beginning of his career, he made several 8mm and 16mm films for the Iranian Youth Cinema Society and subsequently wrote screenplays for Iranian television and also directed many popular TV series including “A Tale of a City.”

“Dancing in the Dust,” his first feature film, received multiple awards at the Fajr Film Festival and played international festivals around the world. “Beautiful City,” his second film, became the launching point for his filmmaking career.

His other acclaimed films include “A Separation” (winner of the Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival for Best Director), “The Salesman” (winner of Best Actor and Best Screenplay at Cannes 2016), and “A Hero” (winner of the Grand Prix at Cannes 2021).

After receiving two Best Foreign Language Film Academy Awards for “A Separation” and “The Salesman,” Asghar Farhadi became one of the only directors to have ever won twice in that category.

Founded in 2002, Film Movement is a North American distributor of award-winning independent and foreign films based in New York City. It has released more than 250 feature films and shorts culled from prestigious film festivals worldwide.

In 2015, Film Movement launched its reissue label Film Movement Classics, featuring new restorations released theatrically as well as on Blu-ray and DVD, including films by such noted directors as Ang Lee, Eric Rohmer, Luchino Visconti, Stanley Kwan, Peter Greenaway, Bille August, Marleen Gorris, Takeshi Kitano, Arturo Ripstein, King Hu, Sergio Corbucci and Ettore Scola.

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Payman Maadi; the actor and Leila Hatami; the actress of ‘A Separation’ are also selected among 50 Best Movie Performances of the Decade in the list of IndieWire. They both won Silver Bear for Best Actor and Actress of Berlin International Film Festival.

IndieWire is one of the leading sites covering film and television, and this week, they’re celebrating best cinema since the year 2010.

On the list of 100 Best Movies of the Decade, there are two other titles by Iranian filmmakers, namely ‘Certified Copy’ (Abbas Kiarostami, 2010), and ‘This Is Not a Film’ (Jafar Panahi & Mojtaba Mirtahmasb, 2011).

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Farhadi won his first Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film with “A Separation” in 2012. In 2017, his film “The Salesman” received the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film.

In addition, Iranian director Arash Lahuti’s “Orange Days” will compete in the official section of the festival, while UK-based Iranian filmmaker Ebrahim Golestan’s 1964 film “The Brick and the Mirror” will go on screen in the Kaleidoscope section.

“Orange Days” tells the story of Aban, the only female contractor in the cutthroat and male-dominated orange harvesting industry, who enters a competition to win a large contract.

“The Brick and the Mirror” is about Hashem, a cab driver who finds an infant child in the back seat of his cab one night after he gives a ride to a young woman. He and his girlfriend, Taji, try to cope with this unwanted child. Hashem insists on getting rid of the child, Taji on keeping him. In the end, Hashem gets rid of them both.

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 The Spanish-language psychological thriller ‘Everybody Knows’, directed by Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi, will open the 2018 International Film Festival of Kerala on December 7.

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The organizers called Farhadi “one of world cinema’s greatest masters” and added “He meticulously depicts contemporary issues in his films, and how these are reflected in close relationships.

“His stories subtly move between the sophisticated and the mysterious almost as naturally as they are inimitable.

“Asghar Farhadi has undeniably meant a lot to a new generation of Iranian filmmakers, as well as for film lovers across the world. It is therefore a great honor to present the 2018 Stockholm Visionary Award to Asghar Farhadi.”

Farhadi will be at the Stockholm International Film Festival, which will held from November 7 to 18, to promote his latest film “Everybody Knows” and to accept the Bronze Horse, world’s heaviest film prize that weighs 7.3 kilos.

He will also attend a review session on November 9 for his movie starring Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem.

Earlier recipients of the Stockholm Visionary Award include Pablo Larraín, Alejandro González Iñárritu, Yorgos Lanthimos and Wes Anderson.

Photo: Iranian director Asghar Farhadi attends a photocall for his “The Salesman” at the Cannes Film Festival in France on May 22, 2016. (AFP/Loic Venance)

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The program, which will begin on September 14, will screen a number of movies shot by Kalari, a cinematographer who has made great efforts for the development of the image of Iran across the world, the organizers announced.

In a statement published on MoMA website, the organizers wrote, “Contemporary Iranian film has been earning worldwide acclaim since around 1990. The complex reality of Iran has, however, been explored by a wide range of cinematic voices, with formally and conceptually rigorous films dealing with subjects as diverse as urban life, women’s issues, interpersonal dramas, and philosophy.

“One figure has contributed to the look of this rich, evolving cinema like no other, cinematographer Mahmud Kalari, who has lensed some of the most acclaimed works by Asghar Farhadi, Abbas Kiarostami, Dariush Mehrjui, and Jafar Panahi.

“Beyond these celebrated masters, Kalari has also collaborated with young and emerging directors, making him a constant presence across the wide gamut of Iranian cinema.”

The screening program includes 12 films, including “A Separation” by Asghar Farhadi, “The Fish Fall in Love” by Ali Rafiei, “The Wind Will Carry Us” by Abbas Kiarostami, “Leila” by Dariush Mehrjui, “Pig” by Mani Haqiqi and “Fish and Cat” by Shahram Mokri.

Kalari is scheduled to attend the screenings of some of the movies, which will be followed by review sessions.

Photo: Mahmud Kalar filming scene from “A Separation” by Asghar Farhadi.

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The film will first be screened in August at the 24th Sarajevo Film Festival, where Farhadi will preside over the jury of the official competition.

CPH PIX in Copenhagen will be next festival to screen the movie. The festival will be held in the Danish capital from September 27 to October 10.

“Everybody Knows” will open the International Antalya Film Festival in Turkey on September 28.

The film, which has been shot entirely in Spanish on the Iberian Peninsula, will go on screen at the Morelia International Film Festival, which will take place in Mexican city from October 20 to 28.

In November, the Stockholm International Film Festival in Sweden will host the film.

Starring Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz, the film is about Laura, who lives with her husband and children in Buenos Aires. When they return together to her native village in Spain for a family celebration, an unexpected event changes the course of their lives.

The 71st Cannes Film Festival in May was inaugurated with a screening of the movie. However, it failed to win any awards.

Last week, the film also had a screening during the 15th Golden Apricot Yerevan International Film Festival in Armenia, where Farhadi was the president of the jury in the official competition.

Photo: Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz act in a scene from “Everybody Knows” by Asghar Farhadi. 

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The Film Academy Foundation is a Spanish professional organization dedicated to the promotion and development of Spanish cinema with headquarters based in Madrid and Barcelona.

Antonio Banderas, Alejandro Amenabar, Almudena Grandes, Mario Vargas Llosa, Vittorio Storaro and Inma Shara are among those who have received the honor from the academy.

In a statement published by the academy, Farhadi said that the decision to honor him by the title has given him “a very good impression” and made him “feel part of the family of Spanish cinema” while underlining the importance of the work of the film academies.

“The world cinema is in a situation of risk. Fewer and fewer people are going to theaters, they prefer to see the movies at home, and the international academies have to come together to find a solution,” he added.

“When I studied theater at university, I saw many films by Carlos Saura [Spanish film director, photographer and writer]. The works of Pedro Almodóvar, Alejandro Amenábar and Alberto Iglesias are also known in my country,” he stated.

Farhadi who has received Oscars for his “Separation” and “The Salesman” shot his latest film “Everybody Knows” in Spain with the elite of Spanish interpretation, from Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem to Ricardo Darín, Eduard Fernández, Barbara Lennie or Inma Cuesta.

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