According to Khabar Online's art correspondent, the dazzling 84th Academy Awards ceremony was staged in the Hollywood and Highland Center (formerly known as the Kodak Theatre) Sunday night.
Receiving the Oscar of the Best Foreign Language Film, Farhadi said while reading from prepared remarks on a piece of paper: "At this time, many Iranians all over the world are watching us and I imagine them to be very happy."
“They are happy not just because of an important award or a film or a filmmaker, but because at the time when talk of war, intimidation and aggression is exchanged between politicians, the name of their country, Iran, is spoken here through her glorious culture, her rich and ancient culture that has been hidden under the heavy dust of politics.”
“I proudly offer this award to the people of my country, a people who respect all cultures and civilizations and despise hostility and resentment. Thank you so much,” he added.
'A Separation' penetrates deeply into the layers of Iranian contemporary family and explores themes of lie and deception, love and moral obligation. The feature begins with a scene where a couple is to file for divorce.
Simin, a middle class Iranian woman is to immigrate to another country with her husband Nader and their young daughter in the hope of a better life.
However, Nader refuses to leave then, because he feels morally dutiful to care for his old father who is suffering from Alzheimer. Later, the following dispute between the couple ends up in family court.
The other films which competed for the Best Foreign Language Film were Michael R Roskam’s ‘Bullhead’ from Belgium; Philippe Falardeau’s ‘Monsieur Lazhar’ from Canada; Joseph Cedar’s ‘Footnote’ from Israel; and Agnieszka Holland’s ‘In Darkness’ from Poland.
'A Separation' was also a nominee for the best original screenplay writing award at this year’s Oscars, but Midnight in Paris by Woody Allen grabbed the award in this category.
The only other Iranian movie nominated at the Oscars was Children of Heaven’ (1997) directed by Majid Majidi, hoever the award went to ‘Life Is Beautiful’ from Italy
The moving family drama had earlier won several awards including at the competition section of the last Berlin Film Festival. It was praised both by the viewers and critics at Berlinale and won the Golden Bear of the festival as the best film.
The cast of the film including Leila Hatami, Paiman Ma’aadi, Shahab Hosseini, Sareh Bayat, Sarina Farhadi, Ali Asghar Shahbazi, Babak Karimi and Merila Zare’ei also garnered the best actor/actress award of Berlinale in ensemble.
It recently won the Best Foreign Film Award of the 2012 César Awards on February 24, in Paris among many other former trophies.
According to a poll conducted by the prestigious British film magazine Sight & Sound, 'Nader and Simin: A Separation', came out as the second best film of 2011 after ‘The Tree of Life’ written and directed by Terrence Malick.
The successful Iranian drama was screened limitedly in US movie theaters from December 30 enabled to run for the Oscars, but is currently on the screens of movie theaters in Canada and Brazil.
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