Market Research Biz News: Read Asghar Farhadi’s Screenplay for Iran’s Oscar Movie

Editor’s Note: Deadline’s Read the Screenplay series debuts and celebrates the screenplay of the film that will be the element of this year’s film award race.

For Iranian writers and directors Asghar Farhadi, hero It was the culmination of a long rumination about a repetitive phenomenon that he noticed in the media of his country.

“I’ve been reading stories like this in the press for a while,” Farhadi tells about the origin of his film story. A newly discovered handbag filled with gold coins by legitimate owners, rather than using loot to regenerate delinquent accounts. Nevertheless, it is good practice to deeply complicate Rahim’s situation.

“”[I had seen stories] An ordinary individual who easily made newspaper headlines for altruistic acts, “says Farhadi. “These stories often had common characteristics. hero I wasn’t inspired by any particular news item, but while I was writing it, I had these stories in mind. “

“At first, there was a vague idea from these true stories,” the filmmaker adds. “I always work the same. Sparks can come from images, emotions, and concise plots that unfold afterwards. All of this stays in the corner of my mind, not expecting it to lead to a script someday. Time is an important ally. Some of these species disappear naturally, others survive, grow, stay in you in an unfinished process, and you concentrate on them. Wait for. “

Farhadi allowed his creative process to unfold at his own pace. “Through the scattered notes, ideas begin to emerge,” he says. “Next, there’s a survey and a first sketch that shows the way forward in itself. Almost all of my story has evolved in my mind in this progressive way. From the beginning. I never remember being able to come up with a complete story with a beginning, a middle, and an end. “

Over the months, the filmmaker refined his ideas with a series of color-coded notecards. “I choose one color for ideas that I’m sure I’ll incorporate into my script in some way, and another for ideas that I’m not sure about,” he says. “Many of these cards aren’t used directly in the write phase. They don’t provide clear information about the script, but they help me better understand my character. This preparatory stage. Now, many aspects of the character’s background develop, leaving more or less visible traces on the film. “

Eventually, as the plots, characters, and themes merged, Farhadi realized that the whole thing reflected a new perspective on the gray areas of humanity that his previous films explored.

“Everyone has a reason to act their own way, even if they don’t necessarily recognize these reasons. It may not be clear or easy to summarize. They are a bunch of contradictions. It can take years for people to find the reason for their actions in themselves and to find them deeply buried in the past, “he says. “By paying attention to why an individual took action, we can understand it without necessarily agreeing.”

Click below to read the script heroAfter being premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and winning the Grand Prix, Iran was submitted to the final selection of the International Feature Oscar Race prior to the February 8 nomination (Falhadi already has two Oscars). I have. Separation When salesman). Amazon studio The photo was released at a theater in the United States on January 7th and dropped on Prime Video on January 21st.