Pakistanis welcome 'A Separation’, ask for more Iranian films

Islamabad, Nov 19, IRNA – An Award winning Iranian film “A Separation” directed by Asghar Farhadi just was screened in Pakistan and warmly welcome by a good number of audiences. “A Separation” was shown at Pakistan National Institute for Folk and Traditional Heritage (Lok Virsa) by the Mandwa Film Club in Islamabad. A good number of people of different age groups watched the movie with great interest. The audience appreciated the quality of the movie, terming it a masterpiece. The audience was of the view that Iranian movies can easily replace the Indian movies in Pakistan because they are very close to the Pakistani culture. They were asking for more Iranian films to be screened in Pakistan. Bollywood films are very popular in Pakistan but after a ban on Indian content because of recent tension between the two countries Pakistani cinemas are looking for foreign content, especially the Iranian films. “A Separation” is a drama film, written and directed by Asghar Farhadi starring Leila Hatami, Peyman Moaadi, Shahab Hosseini, Sareh Bayat, and Sarina Farhadi focuses on an Iranian middle-class couple. A Separation won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 2012, becoming the first Iranian film to win the award. It received the Golden Bear for Best Film and the Silver Bears for Best Actress and Best Actor at the 61st Berlin International Film Festival, becoming the first Iranian film to win the Golden Bear. It also won the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film. The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, making it the first non-English film in five years to achieve this. 1378/IRNA