Iranian officials praise Farhadi’s “Past”

TEHRAN,May 26(MNA)--High-ranking officials in Iran’s film industry have praised “The Past”, Iranian Oscar winning director Asghar Farhadi’s latest drama that was shot in France. “I admire Farhadi,” Iran Cinema Organization Director Javad Shamaqdari told Honaronline, a Persian news website on Thursday. “I really liked his film and it is appreciated that he has not been affected by the change in his environment,” he added. He said that “The past” is a completely Iranian film, which is respectful to the country and added, “Farhadi is an honor for us in the filmmaking field.” The director of Iran’s Experimental and Documentary Film Center said that “The Past” is the most respectful film that he saw at the Cannes Film Festival this year. “Due to its respect for moral values, Farhadi’s ‘The Past’ is an outstanding film,” Shafi Aqamohammadian told the Persian service of MNA on Friday in a phone interview from Cannes. “The film is also strong on technique and structure,” he added. Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance has compared “The Past” with Farhadi’s previous film “A Separation” and said that he liked “A Separation” more. “‘A Separation’ is more adaptable to our culture and it is easily explicable,” Mohammad Hosseini said on the sidelines of a press conference on Thursday. Starring Bérénice Bejo, Tahar Rahim and Ali Mosaffa, “The Past” is Farhadi’s first film, which was shot outside his homeland. Iran’s Culture Ministry has granted a permit for the premiere of the film in the country. It is among the top ten most anticipated movies at the Cannes Film Festival, which wraps up today. “A Separation” won an Oscar, a Golden Globe and a French César for best foreign film earlier in 2012 as well as Berlin’s Golden Bear in 2011.