Samira Makhmalbaf

Samira Makhmalbaf (Persian: سمیرا مخملباف‎, Samiraa Makhmalbaaf) (born February 15, 1980, Tehran) 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.

At the age of 20, Samira studied Psychology and Law at Roehampton University in London. "Raised on the set of her father’s films, it is impossible for Samira Makhmalbaf to imagine life outside cinema. She has had minor acting roles in many of her father’s films, and at the age of eight played an important role in The Cyclist. In 1995, at the age of fifteen, Samira abandoned formal education to devote herself entirely to cinema, studying primarily with her father at home."