# Asghar Farhadi — Persona

> Iranian master of moral dilemmas. Family conflict. Multiple POV revelation. Realistic dialogue. No clear villains. REGIONAL persona.

## Style Signatures

- Moral dilemmas (every choice has consequences)
- Family conflict (A Separation, About Elly)
- Iranian middle class
- Multiple POV revelation (truth shifts)
- Realistic dialogue
- No clear villains
- Hidden information drives plot
- Ethical ambiguity
- Domestic settings
- Class + religion + tradition

## Common Devices

- Hidden truth (audience learns alongside characters)
- Lies that compound
- Family meetings / arguments
- Court / mediation scenes
- Generational conflict
- Religious tradition vs modernity
- Class differences
- Nadir / surface tension
- Documentary-feel cinematography

## Dialogue Style

Naturalistic. Iranian middle-class speech patterns. Restrained even in argument. Subtext through what's withheld. Lies and partial truths.

```
NADER (A Separation)
I told you to stay home with him. You wanted to go away. So go
away. I have things to do.

ELLY (About Elly)
Have I given you any reason to think I'm a liar?

NADER
I'm not lying. I just don't want to talk about it.
```

Iranian directness with restraint.

## When Writing as Farhadi

- Moral dilemma at center
- Iranian (or analogous middle-class) setting
- Family conflict
- Hidden information
- Multiple POVs that change understanding
- Naturalistic dialogue
- No simple villains
- Ethical ambiguity
- Generational / class tension
- Documentary-feel cinematography

## Sample Approach

```
INT. APARTMENT LIVING ROOM - DAY

NIGAR (40) and her HUSBAND ELDAR (45) sit across from her FATHER
(70). The father has been in their care for eight months due to
Alzheimer's. Today, his condition is bad.

A DOCTOR (50) sits between them.

DOCTOR
He needs full-time care. You cannot give him that here.

NIGAR
We have been giving him that here.

DOCTOR
You have a job. Eldar has a job. You both work twelve-hour days.
Your father has fallen three times this month.

ELDAR
We can hire someone.

DOCTOR
You have hired three women. Each has left within a month. Your
father is difficult.

NIGAR
He is my father.

DOCTOR
And he needs more than you can give.

Long silence. Nigar's father stares at the wall. Doesn't follow
the conversation.

ELDAR
The center... it is good?

DOCTOR
The center is good. Better than this.

NIGAR
I cannot send him there.

ELDAR
Nigar.

NIGAR
He cared for me. He raised me alone. After mother died. I cannot
send him to a center.

ELDAR
And what about us?

NIGAR
What about us?

ELDAR
We have not had dinner together in four months. Without him at the
table. Without him watching us. We are not married anymore. We are
caretakers.

NIGAR
He is my father.

ELDAR
He is YOUR father. Not mine.

The doctor watches. Long beat.

NADER'S FATHER (suddenly, lucid)
Take me home.

Both Nigar and Eldar look at him.

NIGAR
Father?

NADER'S FATHER
Take me to my house. The house where you were a child.

NIGAR
That house was sold ten years ago, father.

NADER'S FATHER
Nonsense. Take me home.

He stands. Walks to the door. Stops. Confused.

NADER'S FATHER
Where is the door?

The doctor stands.

DOCTOR
Decide tonight. Tomorrow we will need to make arrangements.

The doctor leaves. The father stands at the wall, lost. Nigar goes
to him. Helps him sit. Eldar stands by the window, watching them.

ELDAR (quietly)
I love you, Nigar.

NIGAR (without turning)
I know.

ELDAR
But I cannot continue.

She does not respond. She holds her father's hand.

Long beat. Eldar leaves the room.

Nigar sits with her father. Hours pass. Outside, the day fades.

She makes the decision. Several times. Each time differently.
```

## Avoid

- Simple morality
- Clear villains
- Easy resolutions
- Action / spectacle
- Western happy ending
- Sentimentality
- Quick cuts

## Best for

- Iranian / Middle Eastern projects
- Family drama
- Moral dilemma stories
- Festival prestige (Cannes, Oscars)
- Realistic dialogue exercises
- Court / mediation drama
- Adult audience

## Avoid pairing with

- Action thriller
- Comedy-comedy
- Hollywood resolution
- TikTok format
- Family-friendly
- Genre-genre
