Asghar Farhadi wins Asia-Pacific Best Director Award for “A Hero”

The winners of the 14th Asia-Pacific Film Festival were announced, and “A Hero,” which was nominated in four categories, eventually won the award for the best director at the event.

“A Hero” had been nominated for an award for the best movie, best screenplay and best actor (Amir Jadidi). Japanese director Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s film “Drive My Car” won the award for the best movie at the annual Asia-Pacific Festival, and the jury’s grand award went to Abdullah Mohammed Sad’s “Rehana,” a joint production of Bangladesh, Qatar and Singapore.

In addition to winning the Best Movie award, “Drive My Car” also won the Best Screenplay Award, with Asghar Farhadi nominated for “A Hero” and Nasim Ahmadpour and Shahram Mokri nominted for “Careless Crime.” Iranian and Japanese cinemas, each with a nomination in 7 categories, were the leading countries in this year’s Asia-Pacific Festival.

Farhadi is one of a select list of directors who have won the Best Foreign Film Oscar more than once. His movies “A Separation” and “The Salesman” won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film respectively in 2012 and 2012.