Samira Makhmalbaf

Samira Makhmalbaf was born on February 15, 1980, in Tehran, Iran. She was introduced to filmmaking at an early age, starring in her father Mohsen Makhmalbaf’s film, “The Cyclist,” at the age of eight. Makhmalbaf left high school at 14 to study cinema at the Makhmalbaf Film House for five years, furthering her education in Psychology and Law at Roehampton University in London. Her cinematic career officially began with her directorial debut, “The Apple,” in 1998, which she directed at the age of 17. The film propelled her to become one of the youngest directors to participate in the official section of the Cannes Film Festival, gaining critical acclaim including praise from Jean-Luc Godard. “The Apple” was screened at over 100 international film festivals and distributed in more than 30 countries.

Following the success of her debut, Makhmalbaf directed “Blackboards” in 1999, set in Iranian Kurdistan. This film was selected for the official competition at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival, where it received the Special Jury Award. “Blackboards” also garnered significant international recognition, including the “Federico Fellini Honor Award” from UNESCO and the “Francois Truffaut Award” from Italy, achieving considerable box office success in countries such as France. Her filmography continued with a segment in the 2002 anthology film “September 11,” which premiered at the Venice International Film Festival. In 2003, she directed “At Five in the Afternoon,” notably the first feature film shot in Afghanistan after the fall of the Taliban. This film also premiered in competition at the Cannes Film Festival and earned her a second Jury’s Special Award. In 2004, The Guardian newspaper recognized her as one of the forty best directors globally.

Makhmalbaf’s fourth feature film, “Two-Legged Horse,” filmed in Afghanistan, was released in 2007 and was awarded the Grand Jury Award at the San Sebastian Film Festival in Spain. Throughout her career, Samira Makhmalbaf has also served as a jury member at several prestigious international film festivals, including Cannes, Venice, Berlin, Locarno, and Moscow. Her work is characterized by a docu-fiction hybrid aesthetic, using non-professional actors and street-level realism to explore themes of social justice, women’s rights, and education, often against backdrops of adversity and conflict.