Asghar Farhadi tackles tensions in modern day Iran in The Salesman

Director Asghar Farhadi's A Separation was the first Iranian film to ever win an Academy Award. His followup film, The Salesman, also won for best foreign language film, but the director didn't attend the ceremony. As a response to U.S. President Donald Trump's crackdown on Middle Eastern immigrants and refugees, Farhadi said the conditions that would be attached to his travel Visa were unacceptable.

Recorded before this announcement, Farhadi sits down with host Tom Power to discuss his new film which tells the story of a middle-class Iranian couple whose lives are derailed by a traumatic event. 

"In my country, everything has a political angle," Farhadi explains. "I don't make political films, I describe the situation of people without any judgement and let audiences choose which angle they want to view the film." 

— Produced by Elaine Chau