Completing the cast of his new movie, celebrated Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi started shooting his Spanish project in Madrid on Monday.
After the trio protagonist, the Spanish couple Penélope Cruz, 43, and Javier Bardem, 48, as well as Argentine actor Ricardo Darin, 60, who had signed to play in the film, four more Spanish actors have joined the cast, fotogramas.es reported.
The new cast members include Inma Cuesta, 37, Javier Camara, 50, Elvira Minguez, 52, and Eduard Fernandez, 52. Except for Cuesta, who is the youngest of the four, the other three have won Goya Awards, Spain’s main national annual film awards, for best actor or supporting actress.
Cuesta, Camara and Fernandez have starred in the films of famous Spanish director and producer Pedro Almodovar who was initially set to produce Farhadi’s project.
Cruz and Bardem have also won Goya Award for the best actress and actor as well as Oscar for the best actress and actor in a supporting role. They have previously played in six films together, three of them before they got married. Farhadi’s film marks the fourth time they are co-playing after their marriage in 2008.
3-Way Collaboration
A joint production of Spain, France and Italy, the film is produced by Spanish firm Morena Films and Italian production company Lucky Red, along with the Frenchman Alexander Mallet Guy, producer of Farhadi’s two previous films ‘The Salesman’ (2016) and ‘The Past’ (2013).
Written and directed by Farhadi, the film titled ‘Everybody Knows’ narrates the nightmare of some parents (Cruz and Darin) as their daughter disappears at a wedding ceremony. In the adventure to find her, a great friend of the family (Bardem) helps them.
It is Farhadi’s eighth feature film in which he is also a co-producer. The Spanish-language project, made with a budget of $13 million, is a family drama and psychological thriller, similar to his previous works.
Celebrated Spanish cinematographer Jose Luis Alcaine, 78, is shooting the film. Earlier this month he was honored at the 70th Locarno Film Festival in Switzerland, with the Vision Award for his technical achievements and advancements in film. The prize is dedicated to those who have used their talents to trace new perspectives in the world of film.
In an interview with the Argentine journal La Capital, Ricardo Darin has talked about collaborating with Farhadi, who has so far won two Oscars for ‘A Separation’ and ‘The Salesman’.
Spectacular Works
“He (Farhadi) is a guy whose movies are spectacular, fantastic and very human, (he is) a great director for (any) actors,” Darin said adding that he is fortunate to be able to work with several friends, Javier Bardem, Penelope Cruz and Inma Cuesta.
The Argentine actor has starred in the last three Argentine films nominated for Oscar in the Best Foreign Language Film category. In 2011, he was awarded the Konex Foundation’s Diamond Award, one of the most prestigious awards in Argentina, for being the most important personality in entertainment in the last decade in the country.
“I’m looking forward to seeing how things turn out and what it’s like to work with this great Iranian director, who’s got me really passionate about the movies I’ve seen of him,” Darin said.
