Oscars 2022: Iran shortlists Asghar Farhadi's A Hero for International Feature Category for the Academy Awards

Iran has selected A Hero, helmed by Asghar Farhadi for the International Feature Category at Oscars 2022. The film about honesty, honour and freedom will represent the country at the 94th Academy Awards ceremony. It is scheduled to be held on March 27, 2022. 

A Hero is an Iranian-French co-production, which received critical acclaim at Cannes. The film marked the return of the director to his homeland after his Spanish film Everybody Knows. The 2018 film was a mystery/crime drama film that starred Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem. The film had won both the Grand Prix and the François Chalais Prize at the Cannes competition.    

The film A Hero is about a divorced father Rahim in Shiraz, who is out on two-day parole after he was imprisoned for debt and a conspiracy to get him off the hook from the creditor along with his girlfriend.  

The film was always reportedly considered among the frontrunners for Oscars 2022, even before the feature was selected by the Iranian Film Committee. The film will now compete to get Farhadi his third Oscar. The Iranian filmmaker has previously won Oscars for his 2011 film A Separation and the 2016 film The Salesman, adding his name to the elite club of filmmakers. 

The Iranian Film Committee had reviewed 44 films, according to The Hollywood Reporter, and shortlisted A Hero, Ahmad Bahrami directorial Wasteland and Manijeh Hekmat directorial Bandar Band selected as the three finalists for Oscars 2022. Bandar Band is about three musicians set on a journey to Tehran for a competition while The Wasteland is about a brick factory worker who loses hope for his future after his boss announces the factory's shutdown. 

The nominations for the 94th Academy Awards will be announced on February 8, 2022.