Biography

Samira Makhmalbaf Filmmaker

Born on February 15,1980 in Tehran. At the age of eight, she played in "The Cyclist" directed by her father, Mohsen Makhmalbaf the celebrated Iranian filmmaker.

At the age of 17, she directed her first feature titled "The Apple" and She went on to become the youngest director in the world participating in the official section of the 1998 Cannes Film Festival. She was praised on different occasions by the legendary Jean-Luc Godard for her film. The Apple was invited to more than 100 international film festivals in a period of two years, while going to the screen in more than 30 countries.

In 1999, Samira made her second feature film titled "Blackboards" in Kurdistan of Iran, and for the second time was selected by the Cannes Film Festival to compete in the official section in 2000. She was granted the Special Jury Award. The Blackboards received many international awards including the "Federico Fellini Honor Award" from UNESCO and "Francois Truffaut Award" from Italy. The film was widely released across the world and more than two hundred thousand people watched the film in France alone.

Samira alongside other prominent director like Ken Loach, Shohei Imamura, Youssef Chahine, Sean Penn.... made one of the eleven episodes of the film "September 11". The film was premiered at Venice International Film Festival in 2002.

The third feature by Samira Makhmalbaf titled "At Five in the Afternoon", the first feature film shot in Afghanistan post Taliban. The film was selected for the competition section of Cannes Film Festival in 2003, receiving the Jury's Special Award for the second time. In 2004, she was selected as one of forty best directors of the world by Guardian newspaper.

Samira Makhmalbaf shot her fourth feature film in Afghanistan titled Two-Legged Horse in 2007, receiving the Grand Jury Awardof San Sebastian Film Festival in Spain.

Samira Makhmalbaf has also participated as jury member in reputable film festivals such as Cannes, Venice, Berlin, Locarno, Moscow, Montreal...
- IMDb mini biography by: Anonymous

Daughter of Mohsen Makhmalbaf

Sister of Hana Makhmalbaf

Member of jury at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2004

Member of the jury at the Venice Film Festival in 2000.

After my film "The Apple" many people questioned me about Iran. They wondered if Iran was really a country where thirteen-year-old girls could be locked up for eleven years and where an eighteen-year-old girl could have her first film at Cannes. I think Iranian women are like freshwater springs: the more pressure applied, the more force they show once they are freed.