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Isabelle Huppert and Virginie Efira reunited in oscar-winning director’s next film
Twelve years after the brilliant The Past, Iranian director Asghar Farhadi is returning to France to shoot his next film. Entitled Parallel Stories, the feature brings together some of the most bankable names in French cinema: Isabelle Huppert, Virginie Efira, Pierre Niney, and even Catherine Deneuve.
by Jordan Bako.
Parallel Stories: a film bringing together the best of french cinema
Just a few weeks left before the 2025 Cannes Film Festival… The global film community has its eyes set on the preparations for the grand celebration of cinema, which kicks off on May 13, 2025. For many, teasing a project on the eve of such a major event is a risky gamble. But Asghar Farhadi has decided to do just that.
In a press release, the Iranian director revealed the names of the actors who will star in his new film. Farhadi has assembled the best of French cinema for Parallel Stories. A flurry of actors whose schedules are among the busiest…
Isabelle Huppert in The Richest Woman in the World (2025) directed by Thierry Klifa © Haut et Court.
Virginie Efira, Isabelle Huppert, and Pierre Niney in the cast
Isabelle Huppert and Virginie Efira are both set to present films at Cannes. Huppert plays Liliane Bettencourt in Thierry Klifa’s The Richest Woman in the World, while Efira stars alongside Jodie Foster in Private Life, a drama directed by Rebecca Zlotowski.
Pierre Niney will also appear in Parallel Stories, while still riding the wave of his box-office triumph in The Count of Monte Cristo (12 million admissions worldwide). Alongside him? Actor Vincent Cassel who has been announced in the cast of Romain Gavras’s upcoming film Sacrifice.
Another exciting addition: Adam Bessa, whose career has been on the rise since winning Best Performance in the Un Certain Regard section for Harka (2022), joins the cast of Parallel Stories. Catherine Deneuve will make a guest appearance.
Trailer for The Past (2013).
Asghar Farhadi, a leading figure of Iranian cinema
Few details have been released about the plot of Parallel Stories. What is known, however, is that filming is scheduled to start in Paris in the fall of 2025. This feature marks Asghar Farhadi’s grand return to France. The acclaimed Iranian filmmaker previously directed The Past (2013), a drama starring Tahar Rahim and Bérénice Bejo – a role that earned Bejo the Best Actress award at the Cannes Film Festival.
From the Berlinale to the Oscars, Farhadi is a fixture at major international cinema events. In 2011, he won the César, the Golden Globe, and the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film with A Separation. With such a promising cast, Parallel Stories could very well follow the same path.
Asghar Farhadi’s Parallel Stories has no release date yet.
