Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi‘s work has been quietly stunning audiences for almost a decade. His last three films—Fireworks Wednesday, About Elly and A Separation—racked up festival accolades from Berlin to Tribeca to Sydney, with the latter film going on to win both the Golden Globe and the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film in 2012. In Farhadi’s latest film, Golden Globe nominee The Past (Le Passé), he has traded in Iran for France, proving that his talents cross cultural and language barriers with ease. French actress Bérénice Bejo (The Artist) and Iranian actor Ali Mosaffa star as an estranged couple (Marie and Ahmad) who have been living apart for several years. Marie, who lives with her two daughters in a Paris suburb, summons Ahmad from Tehran to finalize their long-overdue divorce. When he arrives, Ahmad discovers that Marie is involved with Samir (Tahar Rahim, A Prophet), an immigrant small-businessman with a young son. Very soon, layers of regret, guilt and misguided love and blame bubble up among the players, fueled by an inability—or unwillingness—to communicate honestly.
Read the full interview here:
Oscar Winner Asghar Farhadi Talks ‘The Past,’ What Awards Recognition Means To Him & His Next Project
