An Iranian film and a filmmaker are attending the 39th Herceg Novi Film Festival, which kicked off on Saturday in Montenegro
The documentary “Nazul,” written, directed, and produced by Yousef Ghanati is competing for the Golden Mimosa award in the main competition section of the festival, IRNA reported.
A 2026 production, the 27-minute film, which is Ghanati’s debut film, depicts Sepehr, a village boy gifted with a beautiful voice and a great passion for singing, who attempts to apply for a talent show, facing numerous obstacles along the way.
The two-time Oscar winner, Iranian director and screenwriter Asghar Farhadi, is also a guest at the 39th Herceg Novi Film Festival. Farhadi will attend the screening of his latest film, “Parallel Tales,” which will take place on Sunday at Forte Mare Fortress.
Farhadi will also hold a special masterclass on Tuesday as part of the Montenegro Film Rendezvous industry program, organized by the Film Centre of Montenegro. The masterclass will take place at Park Hall, with Vuk Perović serving as moderator.
The film “Parallel Tales” was produced by the French production company Memento Production in 2026 and has a runtime of 139 minutes. The film was screened at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.
Asghar Farhadi, 54, began making films as a teenager, joining the Isfahan Young Cinema Society in 1986, where he made short films on 8mm and 16mm. He graduated in Dramatic Arts from the University of Tehran in 1998 and, several years later, earned a master’s degree in Theatre Direction, with a thesis devoted to Harold Pinter and the significance of silence and pauses in his dramatic writing.
He made his directorial debut with “Dancing in the Dust” (2002), and gained international recognition with “About Elly” (2009), for which he received the Silver Bear for Best Director at the Berlinale. This was followed by “A Separation” (2011), which received more than seventy awards, including the Academy Award and César Award for Best Foreign Language Film.
He shot “The Past” (2013) in France, with Bérénice Bejo winning the Best Actress award at Cannes for her performance. With “The Salesman” (2016), he won the awards for Best Screenplay and Best Actor at Cannes, as well as his second Academy Award, while “A Hero” (2021) received the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival.
The Herceg Novi Film Festival is the most significant film festival in Montenegro, running for over three decades. The festival has been accredited by the International Federation of Film Producers Associations (Fédération Internationale des Associations de Producteurs de Films – FIAPF), becoming part of the global network of the world most prestigious international film festivals.
The primary aim of the festival is to promote regional and world cinema, with a particular focus on creating space for female and male filmmakers and films that nurture an authentic artistic sensibility, a courageous approach to social reality, cinematic language and production, with an emphasis on presenting a cross-section of contemporary poetics and forms of expression.
As part of the festival, Montenegro Film Rendezvous is held, organized by the Film Centre of Montenegro — a film industry event dedicated to strengthening ties between the Montenegrin and European film industries, and to supporting the career development of Montenegrin filmmakers and film professionals.
Having launched on August 22, this year’s edition of the festival will run until August 28 in the coastal city of Herceg Novi.
