Jafar Panahi

Jafar Panâhi (Persian: جعفر پناهی, [d͡ʒæˈfæɾ pænɒːˈhiː]; born 11 July 1960) is an Iranian filmmaker and actor. He is known internationally for his artistic contributions to post-1979 Revolution Iranian cinema, and he has been associated with the Iranian New Wave. His work, rooted in neorealism and centered on the lives of women, children, and the marginalized, constitutes a critical portrait of the social, political, and gendered structures of contemporary Iran. Panahi began his career making short films and working as an assistant to Abbas Kiarostami.