Director Asghar Farhadi made a grand return to the Cannes Film Festival on Thursday night when he premiered his French-language drama “Parallel Tales,” starring Isabelle Huppert, earning a five-and-a-half minute standing ovation.
The acclaimed Iranian author blew a kiss to the audience as the audience applauded the two-hour, 20-minute drama that follows a couple of nosy neighbors whose lives intertwine. Farhadi hugged actors Catherine Deneuve and Virginie Efira as the applause continued. Starring star Huppert, wearing a dramatic bright red dress, stood next to him, politely smiling throughout the applause.
Farhadi, a two-time Oscar winner, has not attended the festival since his previous film “A Hero” in 2021, which won the grand prize. “Parallel Tales” follows Sylvie (Huppert) as she spies on her neighbor across the street for inspiration for a new novel. “When she hires young Adam (Adam Bessa) to help her with daily tasks, she never imagined he would transform her life and work until the fiction she imagined surpassed all reality,” the synopsis continues.
In addition to Huppert and Bessa, “Parallel Tales” also stars French heavyweights Efira, Vincent Cassel, Pierre Ninet and Deneuve. The film is in contention for the festival’s prestigious Palme d’Or, which Farhadi had previously sought for his French-language debut, 2013’s The Past. In 2016, “The Salesman” won Best Original Screenplay. 2018’s “Everyone Knows”. And “A Hero” in 2021.
Farhadi has lived outside Iran since 2023 and has been vocal about not making another film in her home country until the compulsory use of the hijab in film and television is lifted. In a statement in April, the director called on fellow filmmakers to oppose the escalation of the Iran war, writing: “Any attack on a country’s infrastructure is a war crime. Whatever your beliefs or attitudes, let’s unite to stop this inhumane, illegal and destructive process.”
