TEHRAN – The Cannes Film Festival has announced the auteur-driven competition lineup fort its 79th edition including the new film by the celebrated Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi.

Titled “Parallel Tales,” Farhadi’s 10th 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, Honaronline reported.

“Parallel Tales” marks Farhadi’s second French-language film after “The Past” with Berenice Bejo, who won the Best Actress award for her performance at Cannes in 2013.

The new film by the two-time Oscar-winning filmmaker was shot in Paris during fall 2025. Its stellar cast 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 U.S. rights. Memento will handle distribution in France.

It is the fifth collaboration between Farhadi and Memento Production after “The Past,” Oscar-winner “The Salesman,” “Everybody Knows,” and “A Hero”.

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

One of Iran's most prominent cinematic voices, Farhadi, 53, is known for his thought-provoking films that explore social issues. He earned a bachelor's degree in dramatic arts from the University of Tehran in 1988 and later a master's degree in theater direction.

Farhadi won the Best Foreign Film Oscar in 2012 for “A Separation” (which was also nominated for Best Screenplay) and once again in 2017 for “The Salesman”.

He has been selected four times in competition in Cannes with “The Past,” “The Salesman,” “Everybody Knows,” and “A Hero”.

“The Salesman” won Best Screenplay and Best Actor awards at Cannes in 2016 and “A Hero” scooped the Grand Prize at the 2021 festival.

“Everybody Knows,” Farhadi’s Spanish-language debut starring Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem, opened and competed at Cannes in 2018.

Farhadi was also selected twice in Berlin. He was awarded the Silver Bear for Best Director in 2009 for “About Elly” and the 2011 Golden Bear for “A Separation”.

Last week, when Iran was fighting an imposed war by the US and Israel, Asghar Farhadi, in a message, 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.

“I appeal to artists and filmmakers everywhere in the world, in these sensitive days and hours, to use every possible means to be a voice for stopping the devastating aggression that has increasingly led to the destruction of civilian infrastructure,” he said in the message.

“These infrastructures belong to the people of Iran and are related to their basic daily needs. The destruction of infrastructure is not just the destruction of buildings; it is a blow to human life and dignity,” he added.

“Attacking a country's infrastructure is a war crime. Regardless of any belief or perspective, let us unite our voices to stop this inhumane, illegal, and devastating process,” he noted.

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 aggressors claimed at the beginning that the attacks were aimed at preventing Iran’s nuclear program but they later revealed their real objectives. For Israel, the maximalist goal was the regime change in Iran and the US sought to seize the oil and gas resources of the country.

Therefore, besides some military targets, the US and Israel launched organized attacks against civilian infrastructure, including residential homes, hospitals, refineries, power plants, schools, universities, art and cultural spaces, bookstores, museums, and ancient sites in several cities, causing total or partial damages and injuring innocent people, in an attempt to force the country to surrender to their illegitimate demands.

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

Iran, the US and Israel agreed to a two-week ceasefire on April 8. The Supreme National Security Council of the Islamic Republic of Iran announced in a statement that Iran had achieved a great victory and forced the US and Israel to accept its 10-point plan.

Seyyed Abbas Araghchi, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, wrote on X: “Considering the request by the US for negotiations and acceptance of the general framework of Iran’s 10-pont proposal as a basis for negotiations, I hereby declare on behalf of Iran's Supreme National Security Council: If attacks against Iran are halted, our Powerful Armed Forces will cease their defensive operations. For a period of two weeks, safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz will be possible via coordination with Iran's Armed Forces and with due consideration of technical limitations”.

SS/