Cannes Film Festival to premiere Farhadi’s ‘Parallel Tales’

The 79th edition of the Cannes Film Festival in France has set to premier the celebrated Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi’s new film, ‘Parallel Tales’.

Farhadi’s tenth feature film will vie for the coveted Palme d'Or with the latest films by well-known figures including Polish filmmaker Paweł Pawlikowski, Japanese writer-director Ryusuke Hamaguchi, American filmmaker Ira Sachs, Spanish director Pedro Almodovar, and Romanian filmmaker Cristian Mungiu among others.

‘Parallel Tales’ marks Farhadi’s second French-language film after ‘The Past’.

The new film by the two-time Oscar-winning filmmaker was shot in Paris in 2025.

ts stellar cast also includes Isabelle Huppert, Vincent Cassel, Virginie Efira, Pierre Niney, Adam Bessa, and Catherine Deneuve.

Written by Farhadi, the story deals with a young man who falls madly in love with an older woman, leading him into a dangerous obsession.

A French-Italian-Belgian coproduction, the film is produced by long-time collaborator Alexandre Mallet-Guy alongside Farhadi and David Levine. The prestige project will be launched by Charades and UTA Independent Film Group at the upcoming Cannes Film Market. Charades will handle international sales, while UTA Independent Film Group will rep the US rights. Memento will handle the distribution in France.

The 79th Cannes Film Festival will take place on May 12-23. South Korean filmmaker Park Chan-wook will serve as jury president for the main competition section.

Last week, when Iran was fighting an imposed war by the US and Israel, Farhadi called on artists and filmmakers around the world not to remain silent in the face of the destruction of Iran's civilian infrastructure and be a voice for stopping the aggression against Iran.

His message was a reaction to the US President Donald Trump who had threatened to decimate Iran's power plants, bridges and other vital infrastructure.

Farhadi emphasized that the destruction of these centers is a direct blow to the life and human dignity of Iranian citizens.

The US and Israel attacked Iran on February 28 and for 40 days martyred about 3,000 people, including the Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, several officials, and military commanders as well as numerous civilians, including women and children.

The attacks prompted a swift response from the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC), with missile and drone launches targeting Israel and several US bases in the region, which were gradually intensified.

Iran, the US and Israel agreed to a two-week ceasefire on April 8.