Synopsis
Set in contemporary Iran, A Separation is a compelling drama about the dissolution of a marriage. Simin wants to leave Iran with her husband Nader and daughter Termeh. Simin sues for divorce when Nader refuses to leave behind his Alzheimer-suffering father. Her request having failed, Simin returns to her parents’ home, but Termeh decides to stay with Nader.
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Director
Asghar Farhadi studied at the University of Tehran, from which he graduated in 1998 with a Masters in Stage Direction. During his ten years of study he directed six short films and wrote and directed two series for television. In 2001, the doors of cinema opened up thanks to Ebrahim Hatamikia, with whom Asghar Farhadi co-wrote the script of Low Heights, 2002, a chronicle of Southwest Iran that met with critical and commercial success. Soon afterwards, he wrote and directed his first feature film, Dancing in the Dust, 2003, about a man forced to divorce his wife and to hunt snakes in the desert to repay his debts to his in laws. The film won awards at the Fajr and Moscow International Film Festivals. Farhadi followed this with other films, which were similarly received with international acclaim: Beautiful City, 2004, Fireworks Wednesday, 2006. He directed About Elly, 2009, which marked Farhadi's greatest international success to date: he won the Silver Bear for Best Director at the Berlin Film Festival and the film won Best Film at the Tribeca Film Festival. In France, led by an enthusiastic press, the film had over 100,000 admissions. It was also Iran's official submission for Best Foreign Language Film for the Academy Awards in 2009.
With A Separation, 2011, Farhadi won the most prestigious awards at the Fajr Festival, swept the awards at the 2011 Berlin Film Festival as well as 70 other awards internationally, including an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. A Separation sold worldwide and was an international smash success, unprecedented for any Iranian film. With The Past, 2013, Asghar Farhadi shot the film in France and in the French language.