Oscar-Winning Director Asghar Farhadi To Begin Production On His New Film This Summer

This time two years ago, filmmaker Asghar Farhadi was on the top of everyone’s mind, as the filmmaker prepared to debut his film “Everybody Knows” at the Cannes Film Festival. Speculation swirled about the two-time Oscar winner perhaps kicking off the festival with an early awards front-runner. Of course, we know that didn’t happen, as “Everybody Knows” received mixed reviews and Cannes ended up handing the Palme d’Or to “Shoplifters.” But that isn’t going to stop Farhadi, as he’s already gearing up for his next film.

According to Deadline, Farhadi has a new film, titled “A Hero,” about to enter production, with distribution being sought at EFM in Europe this spring. Not much is known about the new film, other than it’s a thriller, keeping with the filmmaker’s previous catalog. We also know that “A Hero” marks the return to a Farsi-language film after his brief departure for “Everybody Knows.” “A Hero” will also see Farhadi return to Iran for production.

As mentioned, the filmmaker has twice won the Oscar for Best Foreign-language Film (now known as Best International Film). His 2016 film “A Salesman” and the 2011 film “A Separation’ both earned Farhadi the trophies. He is one of only a half dozen filmmakers to have ever won that award on two separate occasions.

Pre-production is expected to begin in a couple of months with shooting in Iran to commence sometime during the summer. Of course, since there’s no distribution deal yet, there’s no way of knowing when Farhadi’s new film will arrive in theaters. That being said, if he begins shooting in summer, that leaves an early 2021 premiere date as a distinct possibility, perhaps putting the film in contention to play at next year’s Cannes. Farhadi has had quite a lot of experience at the French event.

Correction: An earlier version of the article had “Everybody Knows” premiering at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival instead of 2018. That has been updated. Sorry for the confusion.