Abbas Kiarostami was an Iranian film director, screenwriter, poet, photographer, and film producer. An active film-maker from 1970, Kiarostami had been involved in the production of over forty films, including shorts and documentaries. Kiarostami attained critical acclaim for directing the Koker trilogy (1987–94), Close-Up (1990), The Wind Will Carry Us (1999), and Taste of Cherry (1997), which was awarded the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival that year. In later works, Certified Copy (2010) and Like Someone in Love (2012), he filmed for the first time outside Iran: in Italy and Japan, respectively. His films have often ranked among the greatest in the history of cinema. Notably, Close-Up was ranked among the 50 greatest movies of all time in the famous decennial Sight & Sound poll conducted in 2012.
Samira Makhmalbaf is an internationally acclaimed Iranian filmmaker and script writer. She is the daughter of Mohsen Makhmalbaf, the film director and writer. Samira Makhmalbaf is considered to be one of the most influential directors as part of the Iranian New Wave.
The Palme d'Or is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the highest prize at the festival was the Grand Prix du Festival International du Film. In 1964, The Palme d'Or was replaced again by the Grand Prix, before being reintroduced in 1975.
The culture of Tajikistan has developed over several thousand years. Tajik culture can be divided into two areas, Metropolitan and Kuhiston (Highland). Modern city centres include Dushanbe, Khudjand, Kulob, and Panjikent.
Fatih Akin is a German film director, screenwriter and producer. He is of Turkish descent. He has won numerous awards for his films, including the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival for his film Head-On (2004), Best Screenplay at the Cannes Film Festival for his film The Edge of Heaven (2007), and the Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film for his film In the Fade (2017).
The 59th Cannes Film Festival was held from 17 May to 28 May 2006. Twenty films from eleven countries were in competition for the Palme d'Or. The President of the Official selection Jury was Wong Kar-wai, the first Chinese director to preside over the jury.
Cinema entered Afghanistan at the beginning of the 20th century. The political changes of Afghanistan have not allowed the cinema of the country to grow over the years. However, numerous Pashto and Dari films have been made both inside and outside Afghanistan throughout the 20th century. The cinema of Afghanistan entered a new phase in 2001.
Farroukh Qasim (Tajik: Фаррухи Қосим, Persian: فرخ قاسم, is a Tajik actor and Persian theatre director from Tajikistan. In 2004, he was a laureate of the international Prince Claus Awards for having "brought renewal to theatre in Tajikistan through his approach to the creative reworking of an eclectic repertoire".
Carlos Reygadas Castillo is a Mexican filmmaker. Influenced by existentialist art and philosophy, Reygadas' movies feature spiritual journeys into the inner worlds of his main characters, through which themes of love, suffering, death, and life's meaning are explored.
Shahab Hosseini is an Iranian actor and director. A popular actor in Iran, internationally he is known for collaborations with Iranian writer and director Asghar Farhadi in About Elly (2008), A Separation (2011), and The Salesman (2016). He has won the Silver Bear for Best Actor for A Separation together with the male cast in 61st Berlin International Film Festival, and the Best Actor Award in 2016 Cannes Film Festival for his role in The Salesman. Shahab Hosseini for the first time won Crystal Simorgh for Superstar movie in (2009) year. In 2013, he made his movie directing debut.
The first films in the cinema of Tajikistan were produced in the early 1930s, for example Quand meurent les émirs by Lydia Pechorina in 1932.
Darezhan Omirbaev is a Kazakh film director and screenwriter.
The Road is a 2001 Kazakhstani drama film directed by Darezhan Omirbaev. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival.
Takhir Sabirov is a Tajik film director, actor, screenwriter, art director, and one of the most notable figures of the Tajik cinema. He is known as the "founding father" of the One Thousand and One Nights dynasty of the film industry due to his creation of the 'Scheherazade' trilogy.
Park Jin-pyo is a South Korean film director and screenwriter. He directed Too Young to Die (2002), You Are My Sunshine (2005), Voice of a Murderer (2007), Closer to Heaven (2009), and Love Forecast (2015).
Mairam Yusupova is a Tajikistani film director.
Tahmina Rajabova ( is a Tajik actress, journalist, TV Narrator. She was awarded The Press Excellence of Tajikistan in 2013, The culture Excellence of Tajikistan in 2003, and The excellence of the Television and Radio Committee of Tajikistan in 2017.
