Iranian director Asghar Farhadi will be honoured with the Honorary Heart of Sarajevo at the 32nd Sarajevo Film Festival, running from 14 to 21 August 2026, in recognition of his "outstanding contribution to the art of cinema." A retrospective of his work will be shown as part of the festival's "Tribute To" programme, cementing his standing as one of contemporary cinema's most acclaimed writer-directors. Festival director Jovan Marjanović praised Farhadi's ability to uncover profound drama within everyday life, saying his films "do not offer easy answers" but instead invite audiences to look and listen more closely.

Farhadi began making short films as a teenager with the Youth Cinema Society of Esfahan before studying dramatic arts and stage direction in Tehran. He won Academy Awards for "A Separation" (2011), which collected around 70 international prizes in total, and "The Salesman" (2016), while "About Elly" (2009) earned him the Berlinale's Silver Bear and "A Hero" (2021) took the Grand Prix at Cannes; his latest film, "Parallel Tales," screened at Cannes in 2026. He also has direct ties to Sarajevo, having chaired its feature film jury in 2018, when his film "Everybody Knows" screened in the festival's Open Air programme.