The Iranian Oscar-winning director Asghar Farhadi's latest film "The Past" and 18 other movies will be contending for Palme d'Or at next month's Cannes Film Festival, organizers a announce on Thursday.
Starring Berenice Bejo, Tahar Rahim and Ali Mosaffa, the French-language film is Farhadi's first project that was shot outside of his homeland.

The film is about an Iranian man, who has ongoing domestic problems with his French wife. He deserts her and his two children to go back to his homeland, Iran.

Farhadi's previous film "A Separation" won an Oscar, Golden Globe and French Cesar for best foreign film earlier in 2012 as well as Berlin's Golden Bear in 2011.

In this year's Cannes line-up for the official competition are also "Only God Forgives" directed by Nicolas Winding Refn, "Borgman" by Alex Van Warmerdam, "The Great Beauty" by Paolo Sorrentino, "Behind the Candelabra" by Steven Soderbergh, "Venus in Fur" by Roman Polanski, "Nebraska" by Alexander Payne, "Young and Beautiful" by Francois Ozon, "Straw Shield" by Takashi Miike, and "Blue Is the Warmest Color" by Abdellatif Kechiche.

Other contenders for Palme d'Or also include "Like Father, Like Son" by Kore-Eda Hirokazu, "A Touch of Sin" by Jia Zhangke, "Grisgris" by Mahamat-Saleh Haroun, "The Immigrant" by James Gray, "Heli" by Amat Escalante, "Jimmy P." by Arnaud Desplechin, "Michael Kohlhaas" by Arnaud Despalieres, "Inside Llewyn Davis" by Joel and Ethan Coen) and "Un Chateau en Italie" by Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi.

Three other Iranian films will also be screened in various sections of this year's Cannes Film Festival, which will open on May 16.

"More Than Two Hours" directed by Ali Asgari will compete in the short film section, and "Needle" by Anahita Qazvinizadeh and "Duet" by Navid Danesh will be shown in the Cinefondation section.

By Payvand

 

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