The Film That Lit My Fuse is a Deadline video series that aims to provide an antidote to headlines about industry uncertainty by swinging the conversation back to the creative ambitions, formative influences and inspirations of some of today’s great screen artists.
Every installment asks the same five questions. Today’s subject is Asghar Farhadi, the Iranian writer-director who has twice won the Oscar for A Separation and The Salesman. The filmmaker is back in the mix for A Hero, which is Iran’s submission for Best International Film and will be released January 21 on Amazon in the U.S. The drama is about a man who hopes to get out of debtor’s prison with the goodwill created from publicity derived from the return of gold coins he found at a bus stop. Soon, the man’s story becomes suspect, and he will have to find a line of decency he will not cross even if it puts him back behind bars.
With the help of his translator, Farhadi here describes films that he saw as a young man in Iran, not the easiest place to build a film canon. Watch how he found his mojo through a black-and-white TV that became a prized possession in his family home.