Before breaking out with his Golden Globe and Oscar-winning marital drama A Separation, Asghar Farhadi was already the director of four previous films that offer an equally acute, perceptive gaze into the realities of contemporary domestic life in Iran, from the margins of the working class to the relative comforts of the bourgeoisie. Although widely traveled and acclaimed on the festival circuit, where they established Farhadi as one of his country’s most vital cinematic voices, these remarkable films have been tragically little seen in North America, until now.

Born in Isfahan in 1972, Farhadi began making 8mm and 16mm short films as a teenager, before earning a BA in dramatic arts from Tehran University and an MA in theater directing from Tarbiat Modarres University. During his studies, he wrote and directed student plays, while also writing plays for national radio and directing for television (including episodes of the hit series Tale of a City). He started in feature films as a screenwriter, co-writing the hit 2002 film Low Heights, before making his directorial debut in 2003 with Dancing in the Dust, followed by Beautiful City (2004), Fireworks Wednesday (2006), About Elly (2009) and A Separation (2011).  We are pleased to present this overdue survey of Farhadi’s work. Series programmed by Scott Foundas.

NOTE: Due to a lab error, the new 35mm prints of Beautiful City and Dancing in the Dust mentioned in our March/April calendar will not be ready in time for these screenings. We will instead be screening these films from existing 35mm prints in good condition.