The 32nd Sarajevo International Film Festival closed Friday with its competition ceremony, capping a week-long program that honored Iranian director Asghar Farhadi with the Honorary Heart of Sarajevo. A full retrospective of Farhadi's work ran as part of the festival's Tribute To program, and Farhadi accepted the award in person at the August 14-21 event.
"His films do not offer easy answers; instead, they invite us to look more closely, listen more carefully, and engage with life's complexities," said Jovan Marjanović, the festival's director. Farhadi first appeared at Sarajevo in 2018, when he served as jury president for the feature film competition at the 24th edition.
The recognition arrives in a year of renewed presence on the festival circuit. Farhadi's tenth feature, Parallel Tales, competed at Cannes in May. The French-language drama stars Isabelle Huppert, Virginie Efira, Vincent Cassel, Pierre Niney, Adam Bessa, and Catherine Deneuve, and draws loosely from Krzysztof Kieślowski's Dekalog: Six. The score was composed by Zbigniew Preisner, who collaborated with Kieślowski on most of his major films. Parallel Tales received a 5.5-minute standing ovation at Cannes but met with mixed critical reviews.
Farhadi holds two Academy Awards for Best International Feature Film, for A Separation and The Salesman. He won the Silver Bear for Best Director at Berlin for About Elly, and the Grand Prix at Cannes for A Hero in 2021.
