On Sunday, Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi won the Academy Award for best foreign language film for “The Salesman” which stars Taraneh Alidoosti and Shahab Hosseini, two of the country’s most respected actors.
The New York Times makes the point that Mr. Farhadi’s films bypass the politics of the region and instead, focuses on daily life. “He tells the story of the middle class,” said Reza Haeri, a documentary filmmaker. “Mr. Farhadi speaks their language. He focuses on tensions that his audience can also experience in their everyday lives. That is why he has a huge following in Iran.”
Iran’s foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, posted a congratulatory message on Twitter, saying that Iranians “have represented culture and civilization for millennia.”
Iranians are huge fans of the filmmaker. “I get happy over anything that makes Iran look good internationally,” says Saba Motmaen, a 26-year-old administrator at an advertising company. “Farhadi makes us looks like everybody else, like normal.”
This is the second win for Mr. Farhadi who received an Oscar in 2012 for “A Separation.” Also of note, the filmmaker boycotted the Oscar ceremonies as protest against President Trump’s Muslim ban.
