Social media plays an unexpected role in Asghar Farhadi's 'A Hero'

Two-time Oscar-winning director Asghar Farhadi didn't set out to make a movie where social media plays a prominent part. The Iranian filmmaker doesn't even use social media much.

But in "A Hero," his latest Iran-set drama, social media proves critical to the inevitable downfall of protagonist Rahim (played by Amir Jadidi).

The working-class man, who has spent three years in jail for defaulting on a debt, is given a few days off from his stint. During that time, while trying to change his fate, he finds himself in entangled in a web of lies (mostly) of his own making, one which quickly unravels thanks in large part to a viral video.

"When I started writing [this film], I never thought social media would become part of this story," Farhadi said in a recent interview in Farsi over Zoom, from a Los Angeles hotel room. "But when we're talking about a story of a person who ascends and descends in a short amount of time, one of the instruments that makes that happen is social media."The film is intentionally set in historic Shiraz, Iran, which Farhadi said provides a good backdrop for the story of a hero.

In the smaller town, "families are very close to each other, always helping each other," he said. Whereas in places like Tehran, the capital of Iran, this type of closeness is less common. From a historical point of view, the city is also somewhere many Iranians are proud of, he added.

But the situation Rahim finds himself in, where social media contributes to his rapid demise, could happen anywhere.

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"When we are talking about real life, these days social media is part of everyone's lives," he said. "This is something that happens everywhere in the world."

Farhadi had thought of the idea for this story years ago, but back then it was just what he would describe as more like a seed. He likened the writing process to growing a tree.

"You have to feed it, water it, and then gradually that plant turns into a whole tree, but then that tree is very different than what the small plant was."

The story changed during rewrites multiple times. "The details come in the rewriting," he said.

A third Oscar? 'Who knows what's going to happen'

"A Hero," which starts streaming on Amazon on Friday, has been garnering Oscars buzz ever since taking home the prestigious Grand Prix at last year's Cannes Film Festival. It's now Iran's candidate at the upcoming Academy Awards in the Best International Feature Film category.

Farhadi is no stranger to Hollywood's biggest night. His 2011 film, "A Separation," and 2016 film, "A Salesman," both set in Iran, nabbed Oscars.

But it's been a while since Farhadi has partaken in Oscars festivities. In 2017, he and other members of the "A Salesman" cast boycotted the awards following former U.S. President Donald Trump's travel ban.

Instead, Iranian-American engineer Anousheh Ansari read a statement from Farhadi on stage.

"I'm sorry I'm not with you tonight, my absence is out of respect for the people of my country and those of the other six nations who have been disrespected by the inhumane law that bans entry of immigrants to the U.S.," the speech said. "Dividing the world into the 'us' and 'our enemies' categories creates fear. A deceitful justification for aggression and war, these wars prevent democracy and human rights in countries which have themselves been victims of aggression. Filmmakers can turn their cameras to capture shared human qualities and break stereotypes of various nationalities and religions. They create empathy between us and others, an empathy that we need today more than ever."

This time around, Farhadi is hoping he'll make it in-person to Hollywood's biggest night. But he's trying "not to think about that."

"Because who knows what's going to happen in the future," he said, a nod to the ongoing pandemic, which hit Iran particularly hard and forced the film to postpone preproduction for about 10 months. "It's better to not pre-plan."

Still, when asked if he's still hoping to win another statuette, the director simply let out a laugh.