Asghar Farhādī (born in Khomeyni-shahr, Isfahan, in 1972) took his bachelor’s degree in dramatic literature from the University of Tehran and a master’s degree in theater directing from Tarbiat Modares University in Tehran. He is one of the best known and most critically celebrated directors of the current generation of Iranian filmmakers recognized internationally, especially as the first recipient in the history of Iranian cinema to win the Academy Award—twice no less—whose star first shone with such films as Chahārshanbahʹsūrī (Fireworks Wednesday; 2006) and Dar bārah-i Ilī (About Elly; 2009), and then with Judāyī (The Separation; 2011), and Furūshandah (The Salesman; 2016); for each of these latter two films he won an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, a rare honor for any director. He has also been recognized by the Cannes Film Festival, Time magazine, and France’s Legion of Honor. His emphasis on social issues, family dynamics, the human condition, and contemporary Iranian society, particularly as it concerns gender, class, and religious differences, has attracted the attention of artistic circles both in Iran and abroad.