Iranian of the Day

Director Asghar Farhadi accepts the Best Narrative Feature award for "About Elly" at the Awards Night party during the Tribeca Film Festival Thursday, April 30, 2009 in New York. VARIETY: "About Elly," the fourth feature from talented Iranian helmer-scribe Asghar Farhadi, casts a revealing light on the elaborate culture of deceit that’s part of modern Iranian society with this talky, overlong drama about upper-middle-class Tehranis on a catastrophic seaside holiday. Ironically, the domestic audience for whom the pic would be most appealing won’t be seeing it anytime soon, because it stars banned actress Golshifteh Farahani (who reaped controversy by appearing in Ridley Scott’s "Body of Lies"). Fests, ex-pats and specialty venues constitute the main audience abroad>>>