Payman Maadi was born in New York to Iranian parents and moved to Iran when he was two years old. He graduated in metallurgical engineering from the Karaj Azad University. For his role in A Separation (2011) he won the prestigious Silver Berlin Bear for Best Actor at the 61st Berlin Film Festival, awarded to the acting ensemble. This film marks Maadi’s second collaboration with Asghar Farhadi, following his role in the internationally acclaimed drama About Elly (2009), which won the Asia Pacific Screen Award for Best Screenplay and Jury Grand Prize in 2009. Peyman Moadi is also a successful screenwriter whose credits include the films Café Setarch (2006), Shaam-e aroosi (2006), Coma (2004) and Atash (2002). In 2011, Maadi was the recipient of the MPA APSA Academy Film Fund and in 2018 the result of that work, Bomb, A Love Story, was nominated for the Best Screenplay APSA.
The Asia Pacific Screen Academy expresses its respect for and acknowledgement of the South East Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. We pay our respects to the Traditional Owners of country, including the custodial communities on whose land works are created and celebrated by the Asia Pacific Screen Awards. We acknowledge the continuing connection to land, waters and communities. We also pay our respects to Elders, past and present. We recognise the integral role Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and First Nations peoples continue to play in storytelling and celebration spaces.
