Winner, Achievement in Directing, 2007
Rakhshan Banietemad is one of Iran’s leading female contemporary filmmakers. Her work is marked by a strong social and political consciousness and commitment. Born in Tehran in 1954, Banietemad studied film at the University of Dramatic Arts and in 1973 joined national TV as a script girl. In 1977 she began her directing career as a documentary filmmaker for television. She shot her first feature film, Kharej az Mahdudeh—Off the Limits in 1987 and in 1991 was the first woman to win the Best Director award at Iran’s most prestigious Fajr Film Festival with the film, Nargess.
Co-director Mohsen Abdolvahab was born in 1957 in Tehran. Abdolvahab is a graduate in Editing from the IRIB University. He began his cinematic career in 1980, editing over 30 documentary and feature films and producing 23 short documentaries and award-winning feature film documentaries. Previous film collaborations with Rakhshan Banietemad include, Nargess and Gilaneh.
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.
