TEHRAN -- Oscar-winning director Asghar Farhadi is in negotiations to hire Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem for his Spanish-language film.

Pedro and Agustin Almodovar’s Madrid-based El Deseo and Alexandre Mallet-Guy’s Memento Films will produce the untitled project, Variety reported on Wednesday.

The project was born of Cruz and Farhadi’s mutual wish to work together, explained Mallet-Guy, which produced “The Past”, Farhadi’s first film shot outside of his homeland in France and his “The Salesman”, which won him the award for best screenplay and the Palme d’Or for best actor for Shahab Hosseini at Cannes.

Farhadi who is currently writing the original screenplay plans to visit Spain next month to scout for locations that could help him to complete the script.

Shooting is expected to begin summer or early fall next year. A U.S. actor will also join the cast.

The plot is about a family of winemakers living in rural Spain.

“It’s a psychological thriller with a dash of Agatha Christie in it. The script is a real page-turner,” Mallet-Guy told Variety.

Agustin Almodovar, meanwhile, said “The film could offer cultural and industrial crossover which would be highly valuable in the current times.”
Farhadi had initially planned to shoot this film last October but said he felt “nostalgic” for Iran and opted to shoot “The Salesman” instead.

Farhadi won the foreign-language Oscar and a Golden Globe for “A Separation” in 2012.

Photo: Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem celebrated the holidays at the Lakers game together on Christmas Day in 2010.

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