Profile Text
Place of Birth: Mianeh, East Azerbaijan, Iran
Date of Birth: 11 July, 1960
Ethnicity: Iranian Azeri
Jafar Panahi (جعفر پناهی) is an Iranian film director, screenwriter, and editor. Part of the Iranian New Wave, he has directed the films The White Balloon , The Mirror (1997), The Circle (2000), Crimson Gold , Offside (2006), This Is Not a Film , Closed Curtain , both of which he co-directed; Taxi (2015), 3 Faces , Life (a segment of The Year of the Everlasting Storm ), No Bears , and It Was Just an Accident ; and short films including The Accordion . He wrote his The Mirror , Closed Curtain , Taxi , Life , No Bears , and It Was Just an Accident ; and co-wrote his Offside and 3 Faces . He also co-wrote the film The Witness (2024). He appeared in the film Through the Olive Trees . Several of his films were made illegaly in Iran.
Jafar is from an Azeri family, that spoke Azerbaijani at home, and Persian socially. He was conscripted to serve in the Iranian military, from 1980 to 1982, and fought in the Iran-Iraq War; he was captured by Kurdish rebels. He is married to Tahereh/Tahere Saeedi, with whom he has two children, including film director Panah Panahi and actress Solmaz Panahi.