About
Abbas Kiarostami was born in Tehran in 1940. After studying painting and graphic design, he worked as a traffic police officer and directed TV commercials. In 1969, he helped establish the cinema department at the Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults (Kanoon), where he made his first short film, Bread and Alley (1970). He became a major figure in Iranian cinema, winning the Palme d'Or at Cannes in 1997 for Taste of Cherry, a first for an Iranian director. His work, blending fiction and documentary, explores themes such as rural life, childhood, and the nature of cinema. He died in Paris in 2016.
* 1940-06-22 — † 2016-07-04
Major works
- Where Is the Friend's Home? (1987)film
- Close-Up (1990)film
- And Life Goes On… (1992)film
- Through the Olive Trees (1994)film
- Taste of Cherry (1997)film
Key milestones
- 1997Won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival for Taste of Cherry, becoming the first Iranian filmmaker to receive the award.
- 2005Received the BFI Fellowship, the highest honor of the British Film Institute.
- 2016Was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) shortly before his death.
Themes
rural lifechildhoodnature of cinemareality and fictionjourney and quest
Sources: kiarostami.org · bfi.org.uk · centrepompidou.fr