Children of Heaven

Majid Majidi (Persian: مجید مجیدی , born 17 April 1959 in Tehran) is an internationally and critically acclaimed Iranian film director, film producer and screenwriter. Majidi’s films have touched on many themes and genres and he has won many international awards.

Born in an Iranian middle class family, he grew up in Tehran and at the age of 14 he started acting in amateur theater groups. He then studied at the Institute of Dramatic Arts in Tehran.

After the Iranian Revolution in 1979, his interest in cinema brought him to act in various films, most notably Mohsen Makhmalbaf’s Boycott in 1985.

As of 2004, Majidi was the only Iranian director who has been nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film with the film Children of Heaven in 1998. He lost the award to the Italian film Life Is Beautiful by Roberto Benigni.

Majidi has directed three other feature films since Children of Heaven: The Color of Paradise (2000), Baran (2001) and The Willow Tree (2005; alternate English title One Life More). He also recently directed a feature-length documentary titled Barefoot to Herat, which chronicles life in refugee camps and the city of Herat during and after the anti-Taliban offensive of 2001.

His acclaimed film The Song of Sparrows will be the opening film of the Visakhapatnam International Film Festival in India . Majid Majidi was one of five international film directors invited by the Beijing government to create a documentary short film to introduce the city of Beijing in preparation for the 2008 Summer Olympics, which was held in the Chinese capital; the project was titled “Vision Beijing”.

A sampling of Majid Majidi numerous awards:
- Oecumenical Special Award, 25th Montreal Film Festival, 2001
- Grand Prix Des Ameriques, 25th Montreal Film Festival, 2001
- Nominated for Academy Award for Best Foreign Film, 1998
- Grand Prix of Americas Best Film, 21st Montreal Festival for World Films, 1999