Farhadi: I cannot separate a local work from the universal

Tehran - (Iranart)-Iran's two-time Oscar winner, Asghar Farhadi, said there is no single language spoken in the whole world. However, the language of feelings including violence, love, and hatred is shared among all people.

He made the statement in his interview with the Spanish newspaper canarias7.es before receiving the honorary award at the 20th Las Palmas de Gran Canaria Film Festival, which opened on April 9 and will run through April 18.

He said, “There are two types of filmmakers. Some make their movies from their heart and the unconscious. Others make them from logic and reason. The latter has the ability to change things. I make them from the heart and the unconscious, so I cannot control everything.”

“I cannot separate a local work from the universal. A local work, if done well, can be understood in all parts of the planet. There should be no border between the local and the universal. Carlos Saura is a Spanish director but at the same time a very universal one. What’s more, the more local you are, I think the more universal your film becomes.”

Farhadi is participating in the Spanish festival with ‘The Salesman,’ ‘A Separation,’ ‘About Elly,’ and ‘Fireworks Wednesday’.

He added, “The theater has a lot of influence on where I am and who I am. The form and my perspective of my films are born from theater. I like the theater more. The theater’s relationship with the public is more free and democratic. In the cinema, the viewer sees things as the director wants. In the theater, the work can be seen with different eyes and perspectives, since each spectator pays attention to different details. With Henrik Ibsen, for example, we learned that you can see things from different angles.”

“I would like to shoot another film in Spain again, and one day I will, because I have very joyful memories of the two years I spent in Spain,” he recalled.

“I remember the trip to Spain and the city very well. I wanted to go back to the city and walk through its streets again when I received the festival’s invitation for this award. I have refused to go to many places due to the pandemic, but I can say that since I have arrived here, I have seen that things are being done very well, I hope it will serve as an example for other festivals,” he said.

In 2007, Farhadi won the Golden Lady Harimaguada of the Las Palmas de Gran Canaria Film Festival for his feature, ‘Fireworks Wednesday,’ which is being screened again at the same competition.

Source: Iran Daily