A SEPARATION (Iran, 2011) by director Asghar Farhadi Nominated for an Oscar for ‘Best Foreign Language Film’, A SEPARATION has been stunning audiences since its open at the 2011 Berlinale last February. Most recently, it screened at the 23rd Palm Springs International Film Festival (PSIFF 2012). Bank employee Nader (played by Peyman Moadi) wants to stay in Iran but his wife Simin (Leila Hatami) wants to leave. A traditionalist stuck in the past and unable to leave his be...

  A SEPARATION (Iran, 2011) by director Asghar Farhadi Nominated for an Oscar for ‘Best Foreign Language Film’, A SEPARATION has been stunning audiences since its open at the 2011 Berlinale last February. Most recently, it screened at the 23rd Palm Springs International Film Festival (PSIFF 2012). Bank employee Nader (played by Peyman Moadi) wants to stay in Iran but his wife Simin (Leila Hatami) wants to leave. A traditionalist stuck in the past and unable to leave his be...

by Alex Deleon   As New York Yankees catcher/philospher, Yogi Berra, once put it. "It ain't over till it's over", but as the fest winds down, the smart  ninth day money is on the Iranian film Jodaeiye Nader az Simin ("Nader and Simin -- a Separation"). The Berlin festival is nothing if not political in tone, and this year the political emphasis has been on protesting against Iranian film censorship. However, this family drama is not overtly political in natu...