Majid Majidi (director, film producer, and screenwriter)

Born in an Iranian middle class family, he grew up in Tehran and at the age of 14 he started acting in amateur theater groups. He then studied at the Institute of Dramatic Arts in Tehran.

After the Iranian Revolution in 1979, his interest in cinema brought him to act in various films, most notably Mohsen Makhmalbaf's Boycott in 1985.

As of 2004, Majidi was the only Iranian director who has been nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film with the film Children of Heaven in 1998. He lost the award to the Italian film Life Is Beautiful by Roberto Benigni.

Majidi has directed three other feature films since Children of Heaven: The Color of Paradise (2000), Baran (2001), and The Willow Tree (2005; alternate English title One Life More). He also recently directed a feature-length documentary titled Barefoot to Herat which chronicles life in refugee camps and the city of Herat during and after the anti-Taliban offensive of 2001.

Majid Majidi was one of five international film directors invited by the Chinese government to create a documentary short film to introduce the city of Beijing, in preparation for the 2008 Summer Olympics which will be held in the Chinese capital

[edit] Filmography: Directing
Explosion (Enfejar) (1981) - documentary short
Hoodaj (1984) - short
Examination Day (Rooz-e Emtehan) (1988) - short
A Day with POWs (Yek Rooz Ba Asiran) (1989) - documentary short
Baduk (1992) - debut feature
The Last Village (Akhareen Abadi) (1993) - short
Father (Pedar) (1996) - feature
God Will Come (Khoda Miayad) (1996) - short
Children of Heaven (Bacheha-ye Aseman) (1997) - feature
The Color of Paradise (Rang-e Khoda) (1999) - feature
Baran (Rain) (2001) - feature
Barefoot to Herat (Pa berahneh ta Harat) (2002) - documentary
Olympics in the Camp (Olympik Tu Urdugah) (2003) - documentary short
The Willow Tree (Beed-e Majnoon; alternate English title One Life More) (2005) - feature
Peace, Love, and Friendship (2007) - documentary short

[edit] Awards and honors
Majid Majidi has received numerous awards up to now. Here are a few:

Oecumenical Special Award, 25th Montreal Film Festival, 2001.
Grand Prix Des Ameriques, 25th Montreal Film Festival, 2001.
Nominated for Academy Awards for Best Foreign Film, 1999.
Grand Prix of Americas Best Film, 21st Montreal Festival for World Films, 1999.