Majid Majidi was born in 1959 in Tehran, Iran, where he appeared in amateur productions before completing his studies in acting at the Academy for Dramatic Arts. He began making his own short films and documentaries in the 1980s, and moved onto features films in 1992. He became one of Iran’s most renowned directors with award-winning films including [Children of Heaven], which was nominated for an Academy Award in 1997, [The Father](1996), [The Colour of Paradise](1999) and [Baran](2001).