Iranian filmmaker Ashgar Farhadi is readying his first film since 2021’s “A Hero,” and the cast sheet is a who’s who of French Cinema’s greatest talents.
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Variety reports that Farhadi’s “Parallel Tales” will star Isabelle Huppert, Virginie Efira, Vincent Cassel, Pierre Niney, and Adam Bessa. Catherine Deneuve has a small role, too. Plot details for the film remain under wraps, but Farhadi will shoot it in Paris this Fall. It’s Farhadi’s first French-language film since 2013’s “The Past.”
Any new Farhadi project is cause for excitement, but the cast list above arguably the best the two-time Oscar winner has ever assembled. Farhadi produces “Parallel Tales” with Alexandre Mallet-Guy and David Levine. Charades and UTA Independent Film Group will launch sales for the project at the upcoming Cannes market next month. “Parallel Tales” will be Farhdi and Mallet-Guy’s fifth collaboration together, after “The Past,” “The Salesman,” “Everybody Knows,” and “A Hero.”
Most of the cast for “Parallel Tales” need no introduction, but a couple of names may not be familiar to American audiences. Efira’s biggest stateside movie may be Paul Verhoeven‘s “Benedetta” from 2021, while Niney starred in last year’s blockbuster “The Count Of Monte Cristo.” Bessa is another rising French cinema star nominated for a Cesar Award this year for his performance in “Ghost Trail.” As for Huppert, Cassel, and Denevue: well, they’re some of the biggest French stars of their respective generations.
Farhadi’s latest is a French-Italian-Belgian coproduction via Mallet-Guy’s Memento Production, Andrea Occhipinti‘s Lucky Red banner, André Logie‘s Panache Productions and Gaëtan David‘s La Compagnie Cinématographique. Anonymous Content also co-produces via the US.
Expect “Parallel Tales” to hit French theaters in Spring 2026, so a Cannes world premiere (Farhadi’s favorite festival) for the film feels likely.
