Two-time Oscar-winning director Asghar Farhadi was selected as an Honorary Patron of the Film Academy Foundation (De la Fundación Academia de Cine), the foundation announced on Thursday.
The Film Academy Foundation is a Spanish professional organization dedicated to the promotion and development of Spanish cinema with headquarters based in Madrid and Barcelona.
Antonio Banderas, Alejandro Amenabar, Almudena Grandes, Mario Vargas Llosa, Vittorio Storaro and Inma Shara are among those who have received the honor from the academy.
In a statement published by the academy, Farhadi said that the decision to honor him by the title has given him “a very good impression” and made him “feel part of the family of Spanish cinema” while underlining the importance of the work of the film academies.
“The world cinema is in a situation of risk. Fewer and fewer people are going to theaters, they prefer to see the movies at home, and the international academies have to come together to find a solution,” he added.
“When I studied theater at university, I saw many films by Carlos Saura [Spanish film director, photographer and writer]. The works of Pedro Almodóvar, Alejandro Amenábar and Alberto Iglesias are also known in my country,” he stated.
Farhadi who has received Oscars for his “Separation” and “The Salesman” shot his latest film “Everybody Knows” in Spain with the elite of Spanish interpretation, from Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem to Ricardo Darín, Eduard Fernández, Barbara Lennie or Inma Cuesta.
