Archive notice: This article was originally published on February 16, 2009. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
About the Film:
Iranian Ahmad returns home after a long stay in Germany to spend a short holiday with his university friends on the Caspian Sea. The lively Sepideh organized the reunion. Without telling her friends, she persuades Elly, her daughter’s primary-school teacher, to accompany them. Ahmad, having just escaped his unhappy marriage in Germany, wants to begin a new life with a woman from Iran. Gradually, the friends also realize why Sepideh invited Elly. Everyone likes Elly, but on the second day she suddenly disappears without a trace. The carefree holiday atmosphere vanishes, and everyone tries to understand why Elly cannot be found. When they contact her family, who have not heard from her either, panic breaks out. The friends analyze their conversations with her from the previous day. Even Sepideh is accused of ruining the holiday by inviting Elly. Eventually, the friends form an entirely different opinion of Elly—until the truth finally comes to light…
About the Director:
Asghar Farhadi was born in Isfahan, Iran, in 1972. He graduated in directing from Tehran University in 1998. In 2001, he wrote the screenplay for Ebrahim Hatamikia’s box-office and critical success “Low Heights.” His directorial debut, “Dancing in the Dust,” won the Film Critics Award and Best Actor prize at the Moscow Film Festival. Farhadi’s second film, “Beautiful City,” won awards at the 2004 Warsaw Film Festival (Best Film), the India International Film Festival and the Moscow Faces of Love Film Festival. Asghar Farhadi also received several awards at international festivals for his third film, “Fireworks Wednesday” (original title: Chahar Shanbeh Souri), which was screened in Europe and the United States, including an award at the 2006 Locarno International Film Festival. “About Elly” (original title: Darbareye Elly) is his fourth feature film.