TEHRAN – A large number cineastes gathered at the Iranian House of Cinema on Tuesday to attend a ceremony that the center held to honor Asghar Farhadi for the success of his latest drama “The Salesman” at the 69th Cannes Film Festival.

Managing Director of the Iranian House of Cinema Reza Mirkarimi and Cinema Organization of Iran (COI) Director Hojjatollah Ayyubi praised Farhadi and his films in their short speeches.

“Last year we received 370 awards at various international events, that is, Iranian cineastes have won one award every day, meaning that every day different articles have been written about the cinema and culture of Iran,” Ayyubi said.

He added, “How much should we have spent to make others write good things about Iran. We need to thank Farhadi as an individual who has gained this honor and say that this award belongs to the entire cinema of Iran”.

Farhadi next appeared on stage and apologized for his delay, “I do apologize, but I went to visit Mr. (Abbas) Kiarostami in his house and it took long. I must say he is better now and will resume his activities soon.”

Kiarostami, 76, was hospitalized in mid-March due to a severe gastrointestinal disease and underwent several operations.

“I fell in love with cinema by watching the films whose filmmakers are sitting here today. I feel this is an honor of this cinema which has made significant films like ‘The Cow’ (Dariush Mehrjui) many years ago, or other films like those by Kiarostami,” Farhadi said.

He continued, “I have done some research due to my many numbers of trips. The cinema of Iran is no doubt one of the top five cinemas in the world. And when someone like Jim Jarmusch (American filmmaker) says the country of Iran is the garden of cinema, he is not paying a compliment. But here some blame the iceman of Iran. They like all the films to be like one another, but the beauty of cinema is in its diversity”.

Farhadi also noted, “Although the West envies the cinema of Iran and respects the art of Iran, some inside the country act the opposite. They believe some films present bad image of Iran, calling it the reason for their success at international events, but I believe they mean to condemn the cinema of Iran”.

Shahab Hosseini was with Farhadi when they visited Kiarostami, but he missed the ceremony for his personal program, and Alidusti arrived very late.

The “Salesman” brought Hosseini the Palme d’Or for best actor and Farhadi the award for best screenplay at Cannes. The film is about Emad (Hosseini) and Rana (Alidusti) who move into a new flat in the center of Tehran. An incident linked to the previous tenant dramatically changes the young couple’s life.

RM/MMS
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