Asghar Farhadi Says It’s ‘Strange’ To Be At Cannes While Iranian Countryman Jafar Panahi Is Not

CANNNES – Iranian director Asghar Farhadi is not one to often dive into politics in his own work.  In fact, he’s one of the few Iranian filmmakers who has been allowed to work overseas and his relative creative freedom is no doubt partially due to the two for Foreign Language Film Oscars he’s won for his homeland.  Today was another celebratory day for Farhadi.  His latest endeavor, “Everybody Knows,” has been acquired for distribution in the United States by Focus Features and earned mixed to positive reviews as the opening night film of the 2018 Cannes Film Festival.  Still, it was also somewhat appropriate that clouds descended over la Croisette as he arrived for a press conference alongside stars Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz.

REVIEW: Asghar Farhadi’s “Everybody Knows” 

The conference touched on a number of subjects about Farhadi’s Spanish-language melodrama including the revelation  Cruz and Bardem both received equal salaries (a simple mater of fact “yes” answer from Cruz) and the depths the director went to learn Spanish so he’d know the lines each of his actors were performing, among other subjects.  But, as the press conference drew to a close the “A Separation” and “The Salesman” director announced he wanted to make a statement and it was about the other Iranian filmmaker with a movie in competition.

Translated from Farsi by a festival translator Farhadi says, “This a special year. There are two Iranians films [at the festival]. There is another film in competition by Jafar Panahi, [‘Three Faces‘], it’s also in competition.  I spoke to him yesterday and I have great respect for his work and I continue to hope he will be able to come I think there is still time and I would like to send out this message.  I hope the decision will be taken to allow him to come.  He’s won a lot of a prizes. What is important for him is not to catch a plane but to see how spectators see his film.”

Farhadi added “I do have great hope he’ll be able to come and it’s a very strange feeling to be able to be here as he cannot be here.  This is something I have difficult living with.  It’s wonderful he’s continued his work in the face of such adversary.”

Panahi is currently under a 20-year sentence of house arrest which began in 2010 and has been decried as censorship for the filmmaker speaking out against Iranian’s Islamic Republic.  In that period he secretly filmed “Taxi” which became one of the most celebrated films of 2015 after it won the Golden Bear at the 68th Berlin Film Festival.  At this time he has not been allowed to travel to Cannes to attend the premiere of “Three Faces” which is scheduled to premiere on Saturday, May 12.

As for the other political discourse in the news, Farhadi had little to say directly about the Trump administration’s decision to back out of the Iranian Nuclear Deal. He did however, speak to how his work can show universal truths between all nations.

“I do believe contrary to what the media say human beings are not different depending to the culture when it comes to emotion, when it comes to feelings,” Farhadi says.  “Love, hatred, anger are feelings you feel in all four colors of the word.”

He continues, “These films can show how close we all are in fact. For people who live outside my country it’s very useful to reach these conclusions. I think we all share common roots I think it’s important to insist on these commonalities.”

“Everybody Knows” is currently in release in France and should arrive in theater in the United States sometime later this year.