Post-production is concluding in Brazil for the adaptation of Abbas Kiarostami's film 'Taste of Cherry,' which won the Palme d'Or in 1997. According to ISNA, Brazilian actor Wagner Moura stars in the Portuguese-language version, which is directed by Argentine filmmaker Lisandro Alonso. The working title of this adaptation is 'Scent of Pitanga.'
Kiarostami's son, Ahmad Kiarostami, who serves as the executive producer of the project, noted that it took him time to accept the idea. However, after making the decision, he informed Lisandro that the film belongs to him, and Alonso makes all creative decisions. He emphasized that 'Taste of Cherry' is a universal story, not tied to a specific geography or time.
The choice of a local tropical fruit—pitanga from the myrtle family—indicates that this is not a simple recreation of the original. Instead, it is a reinterpretation of the plot about a middle-aged man traveling through the outskirts of Tehran, asking strangers for a favor, thereby prompting viewers to contemplate the value of life.
Kiarostami stated that he does not necessarily need the new film to reflect his father's work, as it is an entirely different film created by a different director. Nevertheless, he expressed confidence in Lisandro's sensitivity, noting that he is bold enough not to follow cinematic canons, which is an important part of the original work.
The film, with a budget of $1.8 million, was shot in Palmas, the capital of Tocantins state in the Northern region of Brazil, and its premiere is scheduled for early 2027. Kiarostami considers Brazil an ideal place for a new look at 'Taste of Cherry,' citing the shared qualities of the countries and the love for Brazil's warm and friendly culture. He recalled visiting the country with his father for the first time in 2004, when he received a special retrospective at Mostra de São Paulo.
After the release of 'Taste of Cherry,' many critics recognized it as a masterpiece. In a 2012 survey by the British Film Institute's Sight & Sound, six critics and two directors named it one of the ten best films of all time. Furthermore, Slant Magazine included 'Taste of Cherry' in its list of nine best films of the 90s.
Abbas Kiarostami (1940–2016) was a director, screenwriter, poet, photographer, and producer. An active filmmaker since 1970, he participated in the production of over 40 works, including short films and documentaries. He received critical acclaim for directing films such as 'Close-Up' (1990), 'Whose Life Is It Anyway?' (1999), and 'Taste of Cherry' (1997). In later works, such as 'Certified Copy' (2010) and 'Like Someone in Love' (2012), he filmed outside of Iran for the first time—in Italy and Japan, respectively.
He belonged to the generation of Iranian New Wave filmmakers, a Persian cinema movement that began in the late 1960s and focused on using poetic dialogue and allegorical narrative addressing philosophical questions. Kiarostami is known for incorporating Persian poetry into the dialogues, titles, and themes of his films. His works are also characterized by a noticeable degree of ambiguity, an unusual combination of simplicity and complexity, and often a mixture of fictional and documentary elements. Concepts of change and continuity, alongside themes of life and death, play a key role in Kiarostami's work.
Ahmad Kiarostami will participate in a panel discussion with Alonso and Brazilian producer Vania Catani of Bananeira Filmes as part of the 50th Mostra de São Paulo, which will take place at the Museum of Image and Sound of São Paulo (MIS) on October 24. The discussion will precede the screening of two of Kiarostami's works from 2016, the year of his death: the short visual essay 'Take Me Home' and the documentary '24 Frames,' which explores his passion for photography.
As part of the celebration of the 50th anniversary of Mostra, MIS is also hosting the exhibition 'Steps – Unpublished Photographs by Abbas Kiarostami,' featuring 60 black-and-white photographs of staircases taken by the director around the world.
