TEHRAN – Palme d’Or winning actor Shahab Hosseini will be playing the role of Iranian-American physicist and inventor Ali Javan in a biopic to be written and directed by Kurosh Ahari.

Javan first proposed the concept of the gas laser in 1959 at the Bell Telephone Laboratories. A successful prototype, constructed by him in collaboration with W. R. Bennett, Jr. and D. R. Herriott, was demonstrated in 1960. Javan also contributed to the fields of quantum physics and spectroscopy. His original 1960 helium neon-laser device is currently on display at the Smithsonian Institute’s National Museum of American History.

Ahari, Hosseini and producer Alex Bretow’s production company Pol Media has acquired exclusive worldwide rights to the life of Javan. He is survived by his two daughters, Maia and Lila Javan, who will function as executive producers and consultants for the project.

Hosseini is mostly famous for his role in Asghar Farhadi’s “The Salesman”, which brought him the Palme d’Or for best actor at the Cannes Film Festival in 2016.

He also received France’s Chevalier of the Legion of Honor (Chevalier de la Légion d’honneur) medal in February.

The medal awarded by the French government is one of the most coveted trophies in the world of art and culture.

Filmmaker and producer Ahari most recently directed the horror-thriller “The Night” starring Hosseini and helmed the award-winning short “Generations”.

Bretow produced “The Night” and “Generations” as well as the award-winning Iranian short “Numbness”.

Pol Media is currently meeting with writers to pen the script along with Ahari.

Hosseini, Ahari and Bretow teamed up to form the company Pol Media to distribute Iranian and international films within the U.S. and other countries.

“Pol”, which literally means “bridge” in Farsi, aims to “bridge the gap” between Iranian and international art, culture and cinema with that of the U.S., the Hollywood Reporter announced on Tuesday.

Pol Media will distribute Iranian and other international films both within the U.S. and abroad while also producing live events, including appearances from Iranian and international actors and filmmakers, as well as other artistic, cultural and cinematic programs.

Photo: Actor Shahab Hosseini in an undated photo. (Mehr/Hossein Esmaeili)

RM/YAW