Abbas Kiarostami
Iranian filmmaker who won the Palme d'Or at Cannes Film Festival twice and became internationally acclaimed for his poetic, minimalist cinema exploring Iranian rural life.
Biography
Abbas Kiarostami, born in Tehran on June 22, 1940, was an Iranian filmmaker, poet, and visual artist. He became one of the most important figures in world cinema with his unique minimalist style and thoughtful storytelling. After studying at the University of Tehran, Kiarostami started his career in the early 1970s and directed over forty films, including shorts and documentaries, becoming a major voice in the Iranian New Wave movement.
Kiarostami gained international fame with his Koker trilogy, completed between 1987 and 1994, which looked at themes of childhood, education, and rural life in Iran. His global breakthrough came with films like Close-Up (1990), which mixed documentary and fiction, and Taste of Cherry (1997), which won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. The Wind Will Carry Us (1999) further strengthened his status with its deep reflections on life and death.
Besides directing, Kiarostami was a talented screenwriter, film editor, photographer, poet, and graphic designer. His films often used non-professional actors, real locations, and long takes that let stories unfold naturally. He frequently focused on child protagonists and rural settings, often using long conversations filmed inside moving cars with stationary cameras. Persian poetry was central to his work, influencing both dialogue and themes.
Later in his career, Kiarostami filmed outside Iran for the first time with Certified Copy (2010) in Italy and Like Someone in Love (2012) in Japan. These projects showed his ability to bring his style to different cultures and languages while keeping his focus on philosophical and aesthetic ideas. Throughout his life, he received many international awards, including the Officer of the Legion of Honour, the Praemium Imperiale, and honorary doctorates from respected institutions such as the Sorbonne and Ca' Foscari University of Venice. Kiarostami passed away in Paris on July 4, 2016, leaving a legacy that continues to inspire filmmakers and artists globally.
Before Fame
Growing up in Tehran during the 1940s and 1950s, Kiarostami experienced cultural and political changes that would later shape his artistic vision. He studied at the University of Tehran and initially worked in graphic design and advertising, skills that influenced his filmmaking career. He got into cinema through the Institute for Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults, where he started making educational and children's films in 1970.
The Iranian New Wave movement, which started in the late 1960s, was the backdrop for Kiarostami's rise as a filmmaker. This movement focused on artistic freedom, poetic storytelling, and social commentary, often navigating censorship by creating allegorical stories. Kiarostami's early short films and documentaries built his reputation in Iran before he gained international recognition in the 1980s and 1990s.
Key Achievements
- Won the Palme d'Or at Cannes Film Festival for Taste of Cherry (1997)
- Created the internationally acclaimed Koker trilogy (1987-1994)
- Received the Praemium Imperiale for sculpture in 2004
- Made Close-Up (1990), recognized as one of cinema's greatest films
- Awarded Officer of the Legion of Honour by France
Did You Know?
- 01.His film Close-Up was voted one of the 50 greatest movies of all time in the 2012 Sight & Sound critics' poll
- 02.He designed credit titles and publicity materials for films in addition to directing them
- 03.Three of his films were ranked among the 100 best foreign films in a 2018 BBC Culture critics' poll
- 04.He filmed his first movie outside Iran at age 70 with Certified Copy in Italy
- 05.He was active as a photographer and painter, with his visual art exhibited in galleries worldwide
Family & Personal Life
Awards & Honors
| Award | Year | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Officer of the Legion of Honour | — | — |
| Konrad Wolf Prize | 2003 | — |
| Praemium Imperiale | 2004 | — |
| Austrian Decoration for Science and Art | 2014 | — |
| honorary doctor of Ca' Foscari University of Venice | 2003 | — |
| Palme d'Or | — | — |
| Grand Jury Prize of the Venice Film Festival | — | — |
| honorary doctor of the Sorbonne Nouvelle University | 2010 | — |
| honorary doctorate from ENS | 2003 | — |
| honorary doctor of the University of Toulouse-II | 2007 | — |
| Annual award ACFK | 2012 | — |