Popularly recognized as an Iranian filmmaker, Samira Makhmalbaf has created an identity for herself as one of the promising Hollywood directors. She is the daughter of a veteran filmmaker and writer Mohsen Makhmalbaf. She started her film career early, at the age of seven. “The Bicyclist” was her father's film in which she acted. After completing high school she went on to learn films at Makhmalbaf Film House.
By the age of 17, she had directed two videos before filmmaking. ‘The Apple’ was the first movie that she directed. Samira Makhmalbaf became the youngest participant to take part in the 1998 Cannes Film Festival. She was only 18 when her film, The Apple was nominated for the Cannes Film Festival. Many more international film festivals showcased this film.
‘The Apple’ was screened in more than 30 countries and was displayed in more than 100 international film festivals. History repeated itself when once again Samira Makhmalbaf became the youngest director to participate in the 2000 Cannes Film Festival. This time it was her film ‘Blackboard’ that earned her the honor. She won the jury prize at the festival for the ‘Blackboard’. ‘At Five in the Afternoon’ in 2003 was her next project that won the Jury Award at the Cannes Film Festival. The Guardian – a British newspaper declared Samira Makhmalbaf one of the 40 best directors.
The first venture of this director in Hollywood was based on the story of two girls. The highly protected daughters are the main focus of the film. This film brought into limelight the theories of bond and restrictions. ‘Blackboards’ laid emphasis on the extreme poverty of the middle eastern countries. The story highlights the life of Kurdish refugees in Iran post Saddam Hussein's chemical bombing on Halabja during the Iran-Iraq war. “11.09.01” in September 2002 focuses on the terrorist attack in USA on September 11th 2001. The story depicts how a teacher explains the attacks to Afghan refugees.
Samira Makhmalbaf has been recognized for her brilliant work on social issues globally. Many of her works have won her international awards. Some of the awards received include: |
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- UNESCO culture prize in 2000
- “Youth's Cinema” award at the International Silver Screen Film Festival (2004)
- 1999 Critics prize at the Independent cinema festival in Argentina
- 1998 Sutherland Trophy at the London Film Festival
She was nominated for Golden Palm of Cannes Film Festival for “At Five in the Afternoon” twice. Currently she is working on ‘Two Legged Horse’, which is due to release in 2008.
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