Asghar Farhadi to lead Sarajevo Film Festival jury

Iranian acclaimed director Asghar Farhadi has been selected to lead the jury of the official competition at the 24th edition of the Sarajevo Film Festival in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Sarajevo Film Festival’s audience will also have a chance to see Farhadi’s latest film 'Everybody Knows' which was premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in France as the opening film.

The film starring Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem will be screened in an Open Air program of the 24th Sarajevo Film Festival.

The film has been shot entirely in Spanish on the Iberian Peninsula. It is about 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.

'Everybody Knows' is Farhadi’s second film shot outside Iran. In 2012, he directed 'The Past' in French language in Paris. 'The Past' brought its star, Berenice Bejo, the Palme d’Or for best actress in 2013.

Farhadi won his first Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film with 'A Separation' in 2012. In 2017, his film 'The Salesman' also received the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film.

'The Salesman' had also brought Farhadi the award for best screenplay for this movie at the 69th Cannes Film Festival in 2016. It also brought Shahab Hosseini the Palme d’Or for best actor.

Founded in 1995, The Sarajevo Film Festival is the premier and largest film festival in Southeast Europe and one of the largest film festivals in Europe.

The 2018 edition of the Bosnian film event is slated for August 10-17.

MG/MMF