Asghar Farhadi to receive Sarajevo Film Festival honorary prize
The Iranian filmmaker will accept the Honorary Heart of Sarajevo in person as the festival screens a retrospective of his work.
By Poppy Nakagawa · Culture Writer
2 min read
Asghar Farhadi is heading back to Sarajevo, this time to pick up one of the festival’s top honors.
The Sarajevo Film Festival will present the Iranian director and screenwriter with an Honorary Heart of Sarajevo at its 32nd edition, Deadline reported. Farhadi is expected to receive the award in person, with the festival also mounting a retrospective of his films through its “Tribute To” program.
The honor marks a return to the Bosnian festival eight years after Farhadi served as president of the jury for the feature film competition in 2018. That same year, his film Everybody Knows screened in the festival’s Open Air program, according to Deadline.
A career built on everyday pressure points
Farhadi made his feature directing debut in 2002 with Dancing in the Dust. His international profile grew after About Elly, which won him the Silver Bear for best director at the Berlin Film Festival in 2009.
He later reached a wider global audience with A Separation, which won the Academy Award and the César for best foreign film, Deadline reported. The film remains one of the key titles in a career known for domestic tension, moral uncertainty and stories that turn small choices into major consequences.
Farhadi then went to France to make The Past. That film brought Bérénice Bejo the best actress prize at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival.
After The Past, Farhadi returned to Iran for The Salesman, which premiered in competition at Cannes in 2016. The film won best screenplay and best actor for Shahab Hosseini at the festival, then went on to earn Farhadi the second Academy Award of his career, Deadline reported.
His later work includes A Hero, which won the Grand Prix at Cannes in 2021. His most recent film, Parallel Tales, was shot in France and screened at Cannes earlier this year, according to Deadline.
Sarajevo hails a major filmmaker
Jovan Marjanović, director of the Sarajevo Film Festival, praised Farhadi’s place in international cinema while announcing the honor.
“It is difficult to overstate Asghar Farhadi’s significance to world cinema,” Marjanović said, according to Deadline. He said Farhadi’s films show how major human drama can sit inside ordinary life, and added that the festival is honored to welcome him back.
Marjanović also said Farhadi’s work avoids easy conclusions and encourages audiences to look, listen and engage with life’s complications more closely.
The 32nd Sarajevo Film Festival is scheduled to run from August 14 to August 21, 2026.
This story draws on original reporting from Deadline.