Asghar Farhadi Biography, Oscar Films and Awards

Asghar Farhadi (اصغر فرهادی) is a famous Iranian director and screenwriter. He was born on May 7, 1972, in Khomeini Shahr, a city in Isfahan province. Farhadi’s movies depict the struggles inside families as well as the inequality of Iranian society. His films won several international awards, including the Academy Award. Farhadi won two Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film, making him one of the few directors in history who won two Oscars in the same category.

Farhadi was among 100 of the world’s most influential people in 2012, selected by the annual Time. If you want to know more about this successful Iranian director, his movies, and his awards, read this article to the end.

Asghar Farhadi’s Education

Asghar Farhadi graduated with a BA degree in dramatic arts from Tehran University and an MA degree in stage direction from Tarbiat Modares University.

Wife and Daughters Asghar Farhadi

Mr. Farhadi’s wife is Parisa Bakht Avar. These two were university friends who became closer after directing a theatre show; finally, they married in 1995. Parisa Bakht Avar is an Iranian movie and television director who was born in Tehran on August 15, 1971. They have two daughters called Sarina and Saghar. Mrs.Bakht Avar directed the widely praised television series “Man Yek Mostajeram” in 2004 and “Posht Konkuriha” in 2002. It’s worth noting that this couple worked together on projects such as directing the film “Dayere Zangi” in 2008.

Beginning of His Career

Asghar Farhadi was just 13 years old when he first entered the cinema; he got into the directing curfew of the film “The Broken Gun” in 1985.

The First Experience of His Directing

Farhadi’s first directing experience was when he directed a theatre show alongside his wife while they were both students at university.

From Theatre into Cinema

In 1996, when he had just begun his MA, he was a director in theatre, and sometimes he would write scripts for the radio programs. In 1997, Asghar accomplished the writing of the three-season television series “Roozegare Javani”. In 1998, he directed the Television series “Cheshm Be Rah.”

In 2002, he co-wrote the film “Low Heights,” directed by Ebrahim Hatamikia, which was so well received that they were nominated for the Cinema House Festival’s Best Screenwriting Award. In 2003, he directed the film “Dancing in the Dust,” a critically lauded hit, giving Farhadi several awards. He received the Best Director and Best Screenplay Award from Asia-Pacific Film Festival, Special Jury Award from Fajr Film Festival, and other awards for directing the movie “Dancing in the Dust.

Asghar Farhadi and “Beautiful City”

شهر زیبا

Farhadi’s second film, “Beautiful City,” was released in 2004. The story follows a young kid named Akbar, who is imprisoned for a murder accusation and awaits his execution day. The film “Beautiful City” is appealing because it combines social life difficulties with emotional content. Farhadi and Taraneh Alidoosti worked together for the first time in this film, and they did so again in the following years. For directing the film “Beautiful City,” Farhadi won various accolades, including the Golden Peacock award at the International Film Festival of India.

“Fireworks Wednesday” Movie

چهارشنبه سوری

Farhadi directed the famous film “Fireworks Wednesday” in 2006. Farhadi and Mani Haghighi co-wrote this film.
The film depicts the lives of Mozhdeh and Morteza, a troubled couple. Rouhi, a maid service provider, comes to this couple’s house for cleaning and discovers Morteza has an affair with another woman. “Fireworks Wednesday” received the Gold Hugo Award from Chicago International Film Festival in 2006, and Farhadi received the Crystal Simorgh Award from Fajr International Film Festival.

“About Elly” Movie

درباره الی

In 2009, Farhadi directed one of his most famous movies, “About Elly.” This film is his fourth directing experience in the cinema. “About Elly” is about some friends who go to the north of Iran for a vacation. Sepideh, who organized the trip, invites Elly, her daughter’s kindergarten teacher, to introduce her to Ahmad, a divorced friend who lives in Germany.

Elly keeps an eye on their kid, Arash, as he plays at the beach, but they later discover Arash drowning in the water while unable to locate Elly. They are unsure whether she was flooded or returned to Tehran. Asghar Farhadi has won numerous local and international prizes, including the Crystal Simorgh Award for Best Director at the 27th Fajr International Film Festival, the Silver Berlin Bear Award for Best Director, and many others for directing this movie.

Oscar with “A Separation”

جدایی نادر از سیمین

In 2011, Farhadi directed “A Separation,” receiving the first Academy Award for Iran’s cinema. The stars of this film are Payman Maadi, Leila Hatami, Shahab Hosseini, and Sareh Bayat. The story is about an Iranian couple’s separation. Simin, the wife, wants to leave Iran with her daughter Termeh, but Nader, the husband, doesn’t want to leave Iran because of his father, who has Alzheimer.

The plot continues with Nader and Termeh caring for the father while Simin leaves them. Nader hires a woman to take care of the father while he is at work; however, once, she leaves the father tied to his bed to take care of personal matters. When Nader discovers his father tied to the bed and unconscious, he asks Razieh (the nurse) to leave the house, but she refuses. Nader pushes her, and when she falls, they discover she is pregnant, and the baby is now dead.

Numerous Awards with “Separation”

Asghar Farhadi won the Best Foreign Language Film in the Academy Awards for the first time in Iran’s cinema history.
Farhadi won numerous awards for directing this film; some of them are:

• Director Of The Year Award from the London Film Critics’ Circle
• Best Director Crystal Simorgh Award from the Fajr International Film Festival
• People’s Choice Award from the Toronto International Film Festival

Second Oscar with “The Salesman”

فروشنده

Asghar Farhadi wrote and directed “The Salesman” in 2016. Shahab Hosseini and Taraneh Alidoosti are the leading actors in the movie. The plot revolves around Emad and Rana, a couple who work in a theatre and are now playing in Arthur Miller’s “Death of a Salesman.”

The story continues with the couple relocating into a new apartment; Rana is at home alone, taking a shower. When Emad returns home, he can’t find Rana and discovers a bloody bathroom. He discovers that an unknown person has assaulted her. Neighbors told Emad that the previous tenant was a prostitute with problems with her clients. After Rana returns home from the hospital, she is experiencing the trauma; if you’re interested, you can watch the movie with English subtitles.

Awards for “The Salesman”

“The Salesman” won numerous local and international awards, including the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film; this was Asghar Farhadi’s second Oscar. Farhadi received the Best Screenplay Award from the Cannes Film Festival alongside many accolades.

Asghar Farhadi and “A Hero”

قهرمان

Farhadi wrote and directed the film “A Hero” in 2021, which, like his other works, got a lot of attention and was released on December 15, 2021.
Rahim is the protagonist of the story, who was imprisoned after failing to pay a debt.
Asghar Farhadi received several honors for directing this movie, including:

• The Hafez Awards for Best Director
• The Cannes Film Festival’s Grand Prix
• François Chalais Prize
• Best Screenplay from Asia Pacific Screen Awards
• Best Narrative Feature from Santa Fe Independent Film Festival

Asghar Farhadi’s Movies

In the following, we prepared the list of movies Farhadi directed.

If you like to know more about this successful Iranian director, follow his Instagram account @asgharfarhadiofficial; he has more than 427K followers.