Asghar Farhadi

Asghar Farhadi is an Iranian film director and screenwriter whose intimate explorations of family rupture and moral ambiguity have made him one of the most decorated filmmakers of the 21st century. Born May 7, 1972, in Iran, he made his directorial debut with the drama Dancing in the Dust (2003), followed by The Beautiful City (2004) and Fireworks Wednesday (2006). His breakthrough came with About Elly (2009), which earned him a Silver Bear for Best Director at the Berlin Film Festival.

Farhadi became one of the rare directors worldwide to win the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film twice: for A Separation (2011), a family drama, and The Salesman (2016), a moral drama that also won the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Screenplay. His other acclaimed works include The Past (2013), filmed in France, and Everybody Knows (2018), filmed in Spain, both expanding his storytelling beyond Iran. He returned to Iranian filmmaking with A Hero (2021), which earned the Cannes Film Festival's Grand Prix. His films are recognized for their unflinching focus on the human condition and the fractures within intimate relationships. In 2012, Time magazine included him on its annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world, and that year he also received the Legion of Honour from France. As a screenwriter and director, Farhadi crafts narratives that demand moral reckoning from both characters and audiences. Born under Taurus, his life-path number 4 reflects a foundation-building sensibility—constructing complex moral architecture film by film.