Asghar Farhadi

Asghar Farhadi

Asghar Farhadi, born on May 7, 1972, is an Iranian film director and screenwriter. As a director, he has received numerous national and international awards, such as the Crystal Simorq from the Fayr International Film Festival, the Golden Globe and the Oscar for best foreign language film, and the Golden Bear from the International Film Festival of Berlin In 2012, he was named one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World by Time magazine.

Farhadi was born in Homayonshahr, Isfahan. He has a degree in Dramatic Arts from the University of Tehran and a master’s degree in directing from the Tarbiat Modarres University. Before turning to screenwriting, he began directing short films, in 8 mm and 16 mm, at the Isfahan Youth Film Society. He also directed television series such as “History of a city” (Dastan-e Yek Shahr) and co-wrote the screenplay for “Vile altitude” (Ertefa-e Past), by Ebrahim Hatamikia. He made his film debut with “Dance in the Dust” (Raqs dar Qobar), followed by “Beautiful City” (Shahr-e-Ziba), which won him awards at national and international festivals.

His fourth film, “About Elly” (Darbare Elly), won him the Silver Bear for best director at the 59th Berlin International Film Festival, as well as the award for best film at the Tribeca Film Festival. His film “Jodayi Nader az Simin”, widely known as “A Separation”, premiered at the 29th Tehran Fajr International Film Festival on February 9, 2011, and was praised by the Iranian Film House. Farhadi won four awards, including the best director for the third time for the films “Fire Festival” (Chaharshanbe Suri) and “About Elly.” On February 15, 2011, at the 61st Berlin International Film Festival, it won the Golden Bear for best film, becoming the first Iranian film to win this award. In June 2011, “A Separation” won the Sydney Film Award.

On January 15, 2012, “A Separation” was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film. A Separation was also nominated for an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film in 2012. The film was also nominated for Best Original Screenplay. Farhadi was a member of the jury for the 62nd Berlin International Film Festival, which took place in February 2012. On February 26, 2012, A Separation became the first Iranian film to win an Oscar for best Non-English speaking film at the 84th Academy Awards. Asghar Farhadi is the first Iranian to win an Oscar in any of the competitive categories. His 2016 film “The Client,” starring Shahab Hosseini and Taraneh Alidusti, won two awards for Best Actor and Best Screenplay at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival, and was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the 89th edition of the Academy Awards and won the Oscar in 2017. Farhadi’s latest masterpiece (Everybody Knows) is a film starring Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem, and was chosen as the opening film at the 71st Cannes Film Festival.