Asghar Farhadi

Asghar Farhadi was born in 1972 in Iran. He became interested in cinema when he was a teenager and started his education in filmmaking by joining the Youth Cinema Society of Esfahan in 1986 where he made 8mm and 16mm short films. He received his Bachelor in Theatre from the School of Dramatic Arts in Tehran University in 1998 and his Masters in Stage Direction a few years later.

Farhadi made his directorial debut, Dance in the Dust(2003). The film earned recognition at Fajr and Moscow international film festivals and a year later, Beautiful City (2004) received awards from Fajr and Warsaw international film festivals. His third film, Fireworks Wednesday (2006), won the Gold Hugo at the 2006 Chicago International Film Festival. His fourth film, About Elly (2009) was called “a masterpiece” by film critic David Bordwell and won the Silver Bear for Best Director at the 59th Berlin International Film Festival as well as Best Picture at the Tribeca Film Festival. It was also Iran’s official submission for the Foreign Language Film competition of Academy Awards in 2009. His next film, Nader and Simin, A Separation (2011), became a sensation, receiving critical acclaim inside and outside of Iran; Roger Ebert called it “the best picture of the year,” and it was awarded the Crystal Simorgh from Fajr Film Festival, the Golden Bear for Best Film and the two silver bears for the best group of actors and the best group of actresses from the Berlin International Film Festival. It also won Best Foreign Language Film from The Boston Society of Film Critics, Chicago and Los Angeles Film Critics Association, New York Film Critics Circle, National Board of Review, the Golden Globes, the César Awards, the Independent Spirit Award, and ultimately the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, making him the first Iranian filmmaker ever to win an Oscar. His Oscar acceptance speech at the 84th Academy Awards®, a message of peace in tense political times in his country, made him an instant hero amongst Iranians. His film also received nominations for the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Award for Best Film Not in the English Language and for a second Academy Award in the Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen category.

Farhadi then made The Past (2013) in France. Berenice Bejo won the best actress prize from the Cannes Film Festival, the film was nominated for the Golden Globe for the Best Foreign Language Film, won the Best Foreign language Film Awards from the National Board of Review and was nominated in five categories at the César Film Awards including directing, writing and acting. His latest film was The Salesman (2016); like A Separation, it also won the Academy Award® for Best Foreign Language Film.

Asghar Farhadi received the Medal of Officier des arts et des lettres from the Ministry of Culture of France on 27th of February for his artistic influence on French Art and Literature.