Amazon To Distribute Asghar Farhadi's New Film 'A Hero'

After numerous acclaimed films, including two Oscar-winning features, Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi has reached a point in his career where every new film he works on is instantly discussed as a potential awards contender. So, it shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone that Amazon has swooped in to nab the distribution rights to his next film, “A Hero.”

According to Variety, Amazon has purchased the US distribution rights to “A Hero,” the latest film from Oscar-winning filmmaker Asghar Farhadi. The exact plot details aren’t known at this time, but the film “tackles many contemporary issues of our modern societies.” We first reported on the new film last year, when it was thought the film would go into production during the summer. Obviously, COVID had other ideas. But the film is now done with principal photography and is in post-production. Amazon is eyeing a late-2021 release date, primed for awards season.

As mentioned, Farhadi is probably best known for his two Oscar-winning films, “A Separation” and “The Salesman,” both winning Best Foreign-Language Film trophies. His most recent film is 2018’s “Everybody Knows,” a Spanish-language feature that stars Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz. That film opened Cannes, but didn’t have the same awards season impact that Farhadi had previously enjoyed. “A Hero” marks the first Farsi-language film for the director since his 2016 feature, “The Salesman.”

Amazon and Farhadi have already established a strong track record together. The studio previously worked with the filmmaker on the aforementioned “The Salesman.” So, it makes sense the studio would be interested in working with him on yet another feature. Again, an exact release date has yet to be determined for “A Hero,” but don’t be surprised to hear about a fall festival premiere followed by a theatrical run in the heart of awards season.