Asghar Farhadi’s ‘Separation’ Wins Iran’s First Oscar in 2012 – The Hollywood Reporter

Asghar Farhadi Latest Drama, A hero, which debuted on Amazon in January and is a leading contender in the best international film race, but the Iranian filmmaker is no stranger to Oscars.

In 2012, Farhadi’s The split won an international award, then called Best Foreign Language Film, before renaming the category in 2020. It stars Leila Hatami as Simin, who seeks to divorce her husband. Her 14 years, Nader (Peyman Moadi), in an attempt to leave Iran with their daughter. Simin’s request was denied in family court when it was decided that their troubles did not warrant the dissolution of the marriage. The couple separates, and the ego conflict that ensues overshadows the best interests of their child (played by Farhadi’s daughter, Sarina Farhadi).

Unlike his global breakthrough, 2009 About Elly, The split was initially considered too specific for the international market. “When I wrote the script, the people who read it [it] said to me, ‘Why do you want to make this movie? This is a very local movie about Iran, and no one outside of Iran will understand this,” Farhadi recently said. CHEAPScott Feinberg’s.

It was considered such a risky project that he was unable to finance English subtitles until a representative of the Berlin Film Festival watched the film with a Persian interpreter by her side. The split became the first Iranian film to receive the festival’s Golden Bear (it also won awards for best actor and actress) and went on to become the second Iranian film to be nominated – and the First film to win an Academy Award. (It also earned Farhadi a nomination for the original screenplay.)

Despite being a vocal critic of his government, Farhadi made clear his love for the Iranians by giving them an Oscar, “a people that respects all cultures and cultures while at the same time disregarding hostility and resentment.” He joins an elite group of filmmakers with multiple international Oscars when his drama Salesman won in 2017.

This story first appeared in a December issue of The Hollywood Reporter. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.