According to Variety, the director will return to his home country for his next film, tentatively titled “Father and Son,” which was initially set to go into production before “Certified Copy,” but is now set to roll in September. The film will star Hamed Behdad, who starred in last year’s winner of the Un Certain Regard Special Jury Prize, “No One Knows About Persian Cats.” At a Cannes press conference, Kiarostami didn’t let many details slip about the film, saying “It’s quite hard to say what it’s about because it does not have a narrative structure, but it’s from an idea that I’ve had for several years.”
The press conference proved a dramatic one, as Kiarostami told the crowd that he’d spoken to the wife of the recently imprisoned Iranian director Jafar Panahi, and that it looked like there was hope for his release, only for a tearful journalist in the crowd to reveal that his imprisonment had in fact been extended. The festival named Panahi on the jury this year as a show of support, leaving an empty seat on the jury panel. Obviously we’re glad that Kiarostami’s working again, and we’re glad he’s continuing to bring attention to his colleague’s plight. You can sign a petition for Panahi’s release here and you should.