Directed by Asghar Farhadi, the movie tells the story of Emad (Shahab Hosseini) and Rana (Taraneh Alidoosti), a couple who are part-time actors playing Willy and Linda Loman in a Tehran production of Arthur Miller’s 'Death of a Salesman', when an intruder in their new home shakes this marriage to its core.
"Following inclusive discussions and further evaluation about the five films short-listed for Oscars, the board members selected ‘The Salesman’ with a strong majority of votes,” board spokesman Amir Esfandiari said Saturday.
“We all hope that ‘The Salesman’ will be able to introduce the capacities of Iranian cinema in this major global event,” he added.
‘The Salesman’ will be submitted in the Best Foreign Film category ahead of the 89th Oscars ceremony on 26 February.
The movie triumphed at the 69th Cannes Film Festival, picking up the Best Screenplay award for Asghar Farhadi and the Best Actor award for Shahab Hosseini.
Released in Tehran in September and still playing in more than 50 movie house nationwide, the film became a box office hit, selling more than $2 million so far.
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