By Utpal Borpujari / New Delhi
“Everybody Knows (Todos Lo Saben)”, the latest film by double Oscar-winning director AsgharFarhadi of Iran starring powerhouse actor stars Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem, will open this year’s Cannes Film Festival, in what will be the first non-English, non-French film starting the world’s biggest film jamboree since 2004.
Incidentally, Farhadi’s new film is entirely in Spanish, and not Farsi as one would expect, and comes riding on what can be termed as a popular trend among Iranian masters to make films set in other countries. Only recently, another master filmmaker, MajidMajidi, made “Beyond the Clouds”, a film set and shot entirely in India.
The film will have its world premiere as part of the tough Competition Section on the opening day of the Cannes Film Festival at the Grand Théâtre Lumière in the Palais des Festivals on May 8.
Once again, Farhadi takes a family story to question morality in relationships, a la his Oscar winning films “A Separation” and “Salesman”.
This eighth film of Farhadi has been shot entirely in Spanish on the Iberian Peninsula, and charts the story of Laura, who lives with her husband and children in Buenos Aires.
When they return together to her native village in Spain for a family celebration, an unexpected event changes the course of their lives. “The family, its ties and the moral choices imposed on them lie, as in every one of Farhadi’s scripts, at the heart of the plot,” the Cannes festival said.
The last time the Opening Film was neither in English nor in French was for Pedro Almodóvar’s “Bad Education” in 2004.
In this psychological thriller, Farhadi has a top class team with him: José Luis Alcaine on photography (a regular collaborator of Pedro Almodóvar, Carlos Saura and Bigas Luna), costume designer Sonia Grande (“Midnight in Paris” by Woody Allen, “The Others” by Alejandro Amenábar), and Iranian editor HayedehSafiyari.
Over just the past decade, Farhadi has established himself as one of Iran’s most influential and internationally-recognised filmmakers, both for his superb scripts and for the realistic treatment of his films.
At the Berlinale, “A Separation” (2011) garnered the Golden Bear, as well as the Golden Globe, César and Oscar for Best Foreign Film. Farhadi then entered the Official Selection at Cannes with “The Past “ (2013, Best Actress for BéréniceBejo) and “The Salesman” (2016, Best Screenplay and Best Actor for ShahabHosseini), also winner of the Oscar for Best Foreign Film.
The 71st Festival de Cannes will be held from May 8 to May 19. The Competition Jury will be chaired by Hollywood superstar Cate Blanchett. The Official Selection of the festival will be announced on April 12.