Zahra Abtahi: Oscar and us [iranians-E.S.]

Oscar and us

A few days ago, in 74^th Academy Awards, which is known better as Oscar, Iranian movie, a separation, (original title: Jodaye Nader az Simin), won the best foreign language movie award. It was the first Iranian movie which won Oscar, though another Iranian movie, heaven kids, (original title: Bache haye Aseman) years ago, was nominated for the same category, too. This valuable award was a good farewell for a year full of noticeable awards such as Golden Globe, Golden Bear in Berlin Festival, Cesar, and etc.

So, you think this movie and its director; Asghar Farhadi, have faces all lovey-dovey reactions, here?

If so, you are totally wrong! It wasn’t even mentioned in News!

In Iran, there are two extremes about this movie: in one hand there are people, critics, and others who adore it and think it could show a fair picture of Iranian life and culture. They believe the movie technically is higher than Iranian standard levels, which is interestingly the thing both sides agree on. In the other hand, they are ones who think the movie is all “dark” and presents a negative picture of Iran that “blackens” everything which is not all dark and dismal. To make you wonder, in this camp is the Minister of Culture who even didn’t bothered himself to congratulate Farhadi, Javad Shamaghdari, the Cinema Deputy  of Culture Ministry and much critics who are known as “governmental”, means attached to government’s values, and some ordinary people, as well.

“A separation”, though, is not my favorite Asghar Farhadi’s movie; I can’t tell you it blackens everything.

Farhadi started his work with TV, as far as I remember, with a TV series, named “The Story of a City”, part I. The series was about a group of reporters who had short reports called “In City” which investigated social issues and problems. The stories, mostly, were not happy stories, as Farhadi’s usually are, but wasn’t fake or surreal, as well. You had seen many of them around you.

His movies are:

1. Dancing in the Dust  (raghs dar ghobar), 2003
2. Beautiful City (shahre ziba), 2004, see its page on IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0424434/
3. Fireworks Wednesday (chaharshanbe souri), 2006, see its page on IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0845439/ .
4. About Elly (darbareye Elly), 2009, see its page on IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1360860/
5. A Separation (jodaye Nader az Simin), 2011, see its page on IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1832382/

Related photos:

Above: a still from Beautiful City

Above: Isfahan, Khomeini shahr,  the store of Asghar Farhadi’s father