Amazon Studios will release A HERO in theaters THIS FRIDAY, January 7th, 2022. On Prime Video January 21st, 2022. Shortlisted – Iran’s Official Selection for Best International Feature Film at the 94th Academy Awards®

Rahim is in prison because of a debt he was unable to repay. During a two-day leave, he tries to convince his creditor to withdraw his complaint against the payment of part of the sum. But things don’t go as planned…

Interview with Asghar Farhadi

How did the idea for A Hero come about?

I had been reading stories like this in the press for some time. Those of ordinary individuals, who briefly made newspaper headlines because of an altruistic act. These stories often had common peculiarities. A Hero was not inspired by a specific news item, but while writing it, I had these stories in mind that I read in the press.

Why locate this story in Shiraz?

The answer to this question is given by the film’s theme. There are many historical remains in Shiraz, important and glorious traces of the Iranian identity. The main reason for choosing this city is the specificity of the plot and the characters. But the secondary reason was my wish to distance myself from the tumult of Tehran.

How did the writing process go?

At the beginning, I had a vague idea from these true stories. Over the years, the idea grew. I always work the same way. The spark can come from an image, a feeling, a succinct plot which will develop thereafter. Sometimes all of this can stay in a corner of my mind, without my suspecting that it will one day lead to a screenplay. Time is an important ally. Some of these seeds disappear on their own, others persist, grow and stay in you in a state of unfinished process, waiting for you to dedicate yourself to them. It is at this stage, through scattered notes, that an idea begins to emerge. Then comes the research and the first sketches which themselves dictate the path to take. Almost all of my stories have developed in my mind in this progressive way. I do not remember ever having been able to conceive of a complete story with a beginning, a middle and an end from the outset.

Do you know the full biography of your characters?

The scattered notes I mentioned are largely part of the exploration of the characters’ past. This step, which always takes a long time, mostly concerns the main characters. For months, I note all the ideas related to the story I am developing on colored notecards. I choose one color for the ideas I am sure I will somehow incorporate into the script, another for those of which I am less sure. Many of these cards will not be used directly in the writing phase. They do not provide clear information for the script, however they help me to better understand my characters. During this preparatory phase, many aspects of the characters’ backgrounds are developed and leave more or less visible traces in the film.

There is a great ambiguity in the character of Rahim. For example, the smile that hardly ever leaves him.

It seems to me that the realistic approach of the film required this complexity in the characters. As in real life, people are made of multiple dimensions, and in each situation, one dimension takes over and becomes more visible. One could say that these characters are “gray” – they are not stereotypical or one- dimensional. Like any real person in everyday life, they are made of contrasts, antagonistic tendencies or conflict at the time of their decision-making. Rahim’s smile is part of a set of traits that appeared gradually over months of rehearsals; while seeking to define the nature of the actor who embodied it, the role was inscribed in everyday life so as to give Rahim this quality of a “gray” character.

What is your method for your group scenes to be so natural, especially the family scenes?

This results mainly from the writing. It is an unconscious process. When one takes special care to make every detail of the scene plausible and authentic, the whole team, especially the actors, want to bring the script to life. With the characters’ behaviors and their dialogues being realistic and not built on clichés, the actors in their interpretation strive not to fall into the trap of artifice. There is certainly a risk that the search for naturalness itself constitutes an artifice. The line is fine and subtle and you have to be very vigilant not to cross it. Daily life can be repetitive and boring. As a director, one has to take care that the search for a realistic impression of the scene, almost like a documentary, does not induce the slow and uneventful pace of real life.

Siavash lives with his uncle and aunt, and Farkhondeh stays with her brother. There is real solidarity in these extended families, which sometimes becomes a burden. Is this something very common in Iran?

Like in many other countries, I guess this is less observed in the capital or in large cities. But elsewhere, the pace of life is less hectic, families have lost less of their identity, their traditional ways of life and therefore these extended families are more frequent. Affective and family relationships are more developed, so if a family member is in trouble, everyone feels concerned. I grew up in this type of socio- cultural environment. Twenty years ago, the sentence “This is not my problem” did not exist in the Iranian language. However, this sentence has now been imported and characterizes a new relational mode in our society.

Bahram’s character, the man to whom Rahim owes money, is also very ambiguous…

Classically, because of the obstacles he creates for the main character, he should have been unsympathetic and the villain in the movie. But as I mentioned before, due to the treatment of the characters, he has also his own reasons for acting the way he does. When he finally expresses them, they seem to us quite justified and his behavior understandable. It is perhaps this aspect, which goes against the stereotypical figure of the villain that allows us to feel closer to him.

As in A Separation, the eyes of the children are important.

Once more, in this movie too, the children are the witnesses. They observe adults’ difficulties and their conflicts. They are unable to grasp the complexity of these difficulties. This is why, as in the previous movies, the children are dazed witnesses of the events. Their perception of the crisis experienced by the adults is purely emotional. Yet in this movie Nazanin, Bahram’s daughter, who is older than the other children commits an act that creates an even more complex situation.

Most of the characters communicate through social media. Is this a new and powerful phenomenon in Iran?

Like everywhere in the world, social networks in Iran occupy an important place in the lives of individuals. This phenomenon is quite recent, but its impact is such that it has become difficult to remember what life was like before its appearance. My personal experience makes me think that the omnipresence of social networks in everyday life is even more obvious in Iranian society than elsewhere. This can be explained by the country’s current socio-political situation.

At the end of each of your films, the viewer does not have all the answers to the questions raised by the plot. Are you a filmmaker of the undecidable?

As I already said, this specific characteristic common to the films I have made is not intentional. This ambiguity, even this part of mystery, sometimes sets in during the writing and I have to say that I like it. This aspect makes the relationship between the film and the viewer more lasting beyond the screening. It gives the viewer the opportunity to think more about the film and to dig further into what you call the undecidable. I always take great pleasure in seeing Rashōmon again, precisely because of this mysterious dimension. To combine this ambiguity with an everyday story was an interesting challenge.

Do you know this famous quote from Jean Renoir: “In this world, the truly terrible thing is that everybody has their reasons.” It seems to fit most of the characters of A Hero…

I totally agree. Everyone has their reasons for acting the way they do, even if they are not necessarily aware of these reasons. If asked to list them, they would be unable to do so. Sometimes they are not clear or easy to summarize. They are a mass of contradictions. In reality people can take years to find within themselves the reasons for their actions, deeply buried within their past. Furthermore, I must specify that for me, this sentence does not mean that all actions are justified. It is not a question of legitimacy, but understanding. Understanding does not mean to legitimize. By taking note of the reasons that prompted an individual to act, we can understand it, without necessarily agreeing with it.

Biography of Asghar Farhadi

Asghar Farhadi was born in 1972. He directed his first short at the age of 13 as part of the Youth Cinema Society, then he directed five more short movies before entering university. He joined the University of Tehran in 1991to study theater, a choice that would considerably influence his way of making movies. He wrote his graduation thesis about Harold Pinter and, in particular, about the importance of silences and pauses in the playwright’s work. After graduating, in 1996 he continued his studies in directing at the University of Tarbiat Modares. At the same time, he started writing radio plays and television series. After obtaining his Master’s Degree in Directing, Asghar Farhadi began directing his own TV series A TALE OF A CITY (DASTANE YEK SHAHR).

In 2002, he wrote and directed his first feature film DANCiNG IN THE DUST (RAGHSS DAR GHOBAR). The film won the Best Actor award at the Moscow Film Festival. It also won awards for Best Screenplay and Best Director at the Asian Pacific Film Festival.

One year later, Asghar Farhadi continued with BEAUTIFUL CITY (SHAHRE ZIBA) which stands out from the social cinema codes in force at the time. The movie tells the story of an 18-year-old murderer who is sentenced to death and, whose life is in the hands of the family of his victim. BEAUTIFUL CITY was distributed in France in 2012 and generated strong interest in different festivals all over the world. The movie notably won the Grand Prix at the Warsaw Festival.

In 2005, Asghar Farhadi directed FIREWORKS WEDNESDAY (CHAHAR SHANBEH SOURI) which portrays an Iranian family from the point of view of their housekeeper.

Two years later, Asghar Farhadi directed a group of friends who went on vacation in the north of Iran. When one of them goes missing, the whole group finds itself in a complicated situation, thereby drawing the outlines of a great dramatic film. ABOUT ELLY… (DARBAREYE ELLY) was screened simultaneously at the Berlinale and the Fajr Film Festival in Tehran. He won the Silver Bear for Best Director in Berlin and the Director’s Award in Tehran. ABOUT ELLY… was released in France in September 2009 and sold more than 100,000 tickets.

After this success, Asghar Farhadi embarked on the writing of A SEPARATION (JODAEIYE NADER AZ SIMIN) which he directed in 2010. The film reached audiences around the world through the portrayal of a middle-class family going through a crisis leading to divorce.

A SEPARATION was first screened at the Berlin Film Festival where it was acclaimed by the press and the public alike. He walked away with the Golden Bear for best film and two Silver Bears for the actors. This is just the start of a long list of awards. In the end, the film won more than 70 international awards including a Golden Globe, an Oscar and a César. A SEPARATION was sold worldwide and achieved unprecedented success for an Iranian film. In France, where it was screened in 250 theaters, the film is seen by an audience of more than a million. It was released in the United States in December 2011, where it became one of the biggest foreign hits in history. In 2012, according to Time Magazine, Asghar Farhadi appeared on the list of the 100 most influential personalities.

A SEPARATION went on to win other awards: Best Foreign Language Film at the Durban International Film Festival, Best Film and Best Screenplay at the Asian Pacific Film Festival, Best Film at the Sydney Film Festival, Best Director Award at the Abu Dhabi Festival …

Then Asghar Farhadi moved to Paris with his family to write a new script, whose story would take place outside of Iran. Ahmad, the main character, returns to the French capital to finalize divorce proceedings with his wife, Marie. His return will force them to confront their story.
THE PAST was released in France in May 2013, at the same time it was featured in competition at the Cannes Film Festival. It also drew nearly a million spectators. THE PAST won the Best Actress award in Cannes before being nominated for the Golden Globes and the César.

Asghar Farhadi returned to Iran to shoot THE SALESMAN in 2015. The shoot ended in the spring of 2016 and was selected in competition at the Cannes Film Festival. It won Best Screenplay for Asghar Farhadi and Best Actor Award for his lead actor, Shahab Hosseini. THE SALESMAN was released in France the following fall at the same time as in Iran, where it became Asghar Farhadi’s biggest success. In February 2017, he won his second Oscar for Best Foreign Language film.

A few months later, Asghar Farhadi kicked off his next project, EVERYBODY KNOWS, with Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem. The movie was shot in Spain and in Spanish. The Argentinian actor, Ricardo Darín, completed the cast. The film was selected both on opening night and in competition at the 71st Cannes Film Festival. It hit theaters the day it was featured and generated more than 830,000 entries.

With his new film shot in Iran, A HERO (GHAHREMAN), marks the fourth time Asghar Farhadi has competed for the Palme d ́Or. A HERO is also Asghar Farhadi’s fourth film to be produced by Alexandre Mallet-Guy and the seventh to be distributed in France. Their first meeting took place in Berlin in February 2009 when Alexandre Mallet-Guy discovered ABOUT ELLY ….