By S.M. Intisab Shahriyar
Born
in Mianeh in Iran, Jafar Panahi spent his formative years under the
reign of the Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi before joining the army. After
the 1979 Revolution and the installation of the populist theocracy of
the Ayatollah Khomeini, he enrolled in the directing course at the
College of Cinema and TV in Tehran. Here he worked in the film archive,
which afforded him access to Western and Hollywood films which were
otherwise banned in the newly-zealous Iranian society.
After a number of several television projects, Panahi worked as assistant director to Abbas Kiarostami on Through the Olive Trees (1994). The following year, Panahi directed The White Balloon which was universally praised, winning the Camera d'Or for best first feature at Cannes alongside awards at festivals as geographically dispersed as Tokyo and São Paolo. Centring on the travails of a girl who wants to buy a goldfish, it became a hit on the worldwide art-house circuit.
His following film - The Mirror (1997) - again dealt with a young girl, this time making her way home from school, and again Panahi reaped success on the international circuit, being awarded the Golden Leopard at Locarno among others.
Renowned for the social nature of his films, Panahi is avowedly apolitical - although the Iranian theocrats may disagree. The Circle, his 2000 offering, was a passionate profile of the plight of women under a militarist Islamist regime. Despite winning five awards at the Venice Biennale that year, including the Golden Lion, the film has been banned in Iran, and its success resulted in Panahi's temporary arrest on his return from Venice. In a bizarre parallel, he was again arrested in 2001 when changing planes in New York, this time by American authorities while promoting the film.
In 2003 he worked again with Kiarostami - this time as scriptwriter - and the resultant Crimson Gold (2003) won Panahi the Jury Award in the Un Certain Regard section at Cannes.
Continuing his stellar career, Panahi was awarded a Silver Bear at the Berlinale for Offside (2006), his tale of gender segregation among Iranian football fans in the run-up to the 2006 World Cup. In January 2015 it was announced that Panahi's film Taxi was scheduled to premiere in competition at the 65th Berlin International Film Festival. Panahi was awarded the Golden Bear for the film at the festival.
Panahi is married to Tahereh Saidi. Together they have a son, Panah Panahi, born in 1984 and a daughter, Solmaz Panahi. Panah Panahi attended the University of Tehran and in 2009 made his first short film, The First Film, which was screened at the 2009 Montreal World Film Festival. His daughter Solmaz studied theater in Tehran.
After a number of several television projects, Panahi worked as assistant director to Abbas Kiarostami on Through the Olive Trees (1994). The following year, Panahi directed The White Balloon which was universally praised, winning the Camera d'Or for best first feature at Cannes alongside awards at festivals as geographically dispersed as Tokyo and São Paolo. Centring on the travails of a girl who wants to buy a goldfish, it became a hit on the worldwide art-house circuit.
His following film - The Mirror (1997) - again dealt with a young girl, this time making her way home from school, and again Panahi reaped success on the international circuit, being awarded the Golden Leopard at Locarno among others.
Renowned for the social nature of his films, Panahi is avowedly apolitical - although the Iranian theocrats may disagree. The Circle, his 2000 offering, was a passionate profile of the plight of women under a militarist Islamist regime. Despite winning five awards at the Venice Biennale that year, including the Golden Lion, the film has been banned in Iran, and its success resulted in Panahi's temporary arrest on his return from Venice. In a bizarre parallel, he was again arrested in 2001 when changing planes in New York, this time by American authorities while promoting the film.
In 2003 he worked again with Kiarostami - this time as scriptwriter - and the resultant Crimson Gold (2003) won Panahi the Jury Award in the Un Certain Regard section at Cannes.
Continuing his stellar career, Panahi was awarded a Silver Bear at the Berlinale for Offside (2006), his tale of gender segregation among Iranian football fans in the run-up to the 2006 World Cup. In January 2015 it was announced that Panahi's film Taxi was scheduled to premiere in competition at the 65th Berlin International Film Festival. Panahi was awarded the Golden Bear for the film at the festival.
Panahi is married to Tahereh Saidi. Together they have a son, Panah Panahi, born in 1984 and a daughter, Solmaz Panahi. Panah Panahi attended the University of Tehran and in 2009 made his first short film, The First Film, which was screened at the 2009 Montreal World Film Festival. His daughter Solmaz studied theater in Tehran.
