Following “A Separation,” which became the first Iranian film to bag an Oscar prize in 2012, Farhadi had seemingly embarked on a path similar to his revered compatriot Abbas Kiarostami, whose last two films, “Certified Copy” (2010) and “Like Someone in Love” (2012), were both shot abroad.
Kiarostami won the Palme d'Or (Golden Palm) award at the Cannes Film Festival for Taste of Cherry in 1997.
The Salesman is an Iranian-French movie directed by Farhadi who is also the co-producer of the film along with the French producer Alexandre Mallet-Guy.
The film is the only movie which succeeded to win two out of the eight prizes at this year Cannes Film Festival.
This is undoubtedly an unprecedented achievement which would remain in the memory of the Iranians all over the globe.
The Salesman portrays Ra’ana (Iranian actress Taraneh Alidousti) and Emad (Hosseini), as a couple who are part-time actors playing in the Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller as Linda and Willy. It is an Iranian version of Miller’s Death of a Salesman. The film explores the themes of marriage, privacy, suspicion, revenge, honor and violence.
Addressing the audience after receiving his prize, the soft-speaking Hosseini thanked God for his success and recalled the memory of his late father saying, 'I'm sure my father is watching me from the heaven right now,'.
Thanking his Iranian compatriots, the 42-year-old Hosseini said: 'This prize belongs to my people, so I give it to them.'
The acclaimed Iranian superstar won his first international award in 2011 at the golden globe for his play at Farhadi's previously rewarded movie 'A Separation'.
Thanks to the social media, Telegram in particular which is more common among the Iranians, the news and photos of Farhadi-Hosseini shinning in the Cannes immediately spiralled worldwide.
Many Iranians at home and abroad celebrated the valuable achievements made by the two popular artists and flooded the social media networks with messages of congratulations. Filled with pride and joy, the Iranians believe that winning such internationally prestigious awards would portrait the true image of Iran as a peace-loving country and a nation which respects art and demonstrate its rich civilization and culture in its artistic works.
More in his speech, Hosseini also thanked his co-star, Taraneh, who was entirely touched by his words and burst into emotions.
Her supporting tears for Hosseini impressed many Iranians.
Taraneh was also adored by many of her fellow Iranians for portraying a true image of an Iranian lady during her presence at Cannes.
The unprecedented achievements made by Farhadi and Hosseini at Cannes Film Festival also were highly welcomed by Iranians both inside and outside of the country.
Director of the Iranian House of Cinema (IHC), Reza Mirkarimi, was the first person that congratulated Farhadi and Hosseini, followed by other Iranian officials, artists and their fan and friends.
Many cinematographers believe there is a high chance that the Iranian superstar would win this year’s Academy Award for the Best Actor after taking home the best actor award from Cannes.
By Maryam Azish
Edit: F. Safaei
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Tehran, May 24, IRNA - Despite plenty of speculations about who would walk away with the distinguished Palme D'or at the 69th Cannes Film Festival, it was the Oscar-winning director Asghar Farhadi's 'The Salesman” that stood in spotlight winning two prizes in the closing ceremony of the event.
