The 84th Academy Awards' winners included A Separation.
84th Academy Awards . Other winners included Hugo also with five awards , The Iron Lady with two awards , and Beginners , The Descendants , The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore , The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo , The Help , Midnight in Paris , The Muppets , Rango , Saving Face , A Separation , The Shore , and Undefeated with one . A Separation . It focuses on an Iranian middle-class couple who separate , the disappointment and desperation suffered by their daughter due to the egotistical disputes and separation of her parents , and the conflicts that arise when the husband hires a lower-class caregiver for his elderly father , who suffers from Alzheimer 's disease . A Separation won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 2012 , becoming the first Iranian film to win the award .