Majid Majidi

Majid Majidi (Persian: مجید مجیدی, Persian pronunciation: [mæˌdʒiːde, mædʒiːˈdi]) is an Iranian film director, producer, and screenwriter, who started his film career as an actor. In his films, Majidi has touched on many themes and genres and has won numerous international awards.

Not to be confused with Magid Magid.

Majid Majidi
مجید مجیدی
Majidi in 2020
Born
Talesh, Iran
Occupation(s)Director, producer, screenwriter
Years active1981–present
Notable work
Children2
Websitewww.cinemajidi.com

Biography

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.[1]

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.

In 1997, Majidi directed Children of Heaven, which was nominated to receive the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Though it lost to the Italian film Life Is Beautiful by Roberto Benigni, Children of Heaven is the first Iranian film to have been nominated by the academy.

Majidi has directed several other feature films since Children of Heaven: The Color of Paradise in 2000, Baran in 2001, and The Willow Tree in 2005 (alternative 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.

In 2008, Majidi's acclaimed film The Song of Sparrows was the opening film of the Visakhapatnam International Film Festival in India.[2]

Majidi was one of five international film directors invited by the Beijing government to create a documentary short film to introduce the city of Beijing, in preparation for the 2008 Summer Olympics which was held in the Chinese capital; the project was titled "Vision Beijing".[3]

Majidi pulled out of a Danish film festival in protest against the publication in Denmark of cartoons satirizing the Islamic prophet, Muhammad. He stated that he was withdrawing "to protest against insulting any religious belief or icon".[4]

Filmography
Director

Film
Year Title Notes
1992Badukdebut feature
1996The Father (Pedar)
1997 Children of Heaven (Bacheha-ye Aseman)
1999 The Color of Paradise (Rang-e Khoda)
2001 Baran Director and Producer
2005 The Willow Tree (Bid-e majnun) Director, writer and Producer
2008 The Song of Sparrows (Avaz-e gonjeshk-ha)
2015 Muhammad: The Messenger of God Director and writer
2017 Beyond the Clouds[5]
2020 Sun Children Director, writer and Producer

Shorts/documentaries
  1. Explosion (Enfejar) (1981) - documentary short
  2. Hoodaj (1984) - short
  3. Examination Day (Rooz-e Emtehan) (1988) - short
  4. A Day with POWs (Yek Rooz Ba Asiran) (1989) - documentary short
  5. The Last Village (Akhareen Abadi) (1993) - short
  6. God Will Come (Khoda Miayad) (1996) - short
  7. Barefoot to Herat (Pa berahneh ta Herat) (2002) - documentary
  8. Olympics in the Camp (Olympik Tu Urdugah) (2003) - documentary short
  9. Peace, Love, and Friendship (2007) - documentary short
  10. Vision of Beijing (2008) - short[6]
  11. Rezae Rezvan (2007) - documentary
  12. Najva ashorai (2008) - documentary

Awards
  • Grand Prix Des Amériques, 21st Montreal Film Festival, 1997
  • Ecumenical Jury award, 21st Montreal Film Festival, 1997
  • Nominated for Academy Awards for Best Foreign Film, 1998
  • Grand Prix Des Amériques, 23rd Montreal Film Festival, 1999
  • Grand Prix Des Amériques, 25th Montreal Film Festival, 2001

References
  1. "Biography". Majid Majidi. Archived from the original on 31 October 2016. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  2. "Art news in brief". Tehran Times. 23 October 2009.
  3. Vision Beijing website Archived 24 June 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  4. "Film festival hit by cartoon row". BBC News. 24 March 2006.
  5. "Shahid's brother Ishaan to work with Majid Majidi, AR Rahman for Beyond The Clouds". Hindustan Times. 23 January 2017.
  6. "Majidi begins "Vision Beijing" shoot". 6 November 2006.
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