APSA for Achievement in Directing

Rakhshan Bani-Etemad and Mohsen Abdolvahab for MAINLINE (Khoonbazi) Iran

Rakhshan Bani-Etemad is one of Iran’s leading female contemporary filmmakers. Her work is marked by a strong social and political consciousness and commitment. Born in Teheran in 1954, Bani-Etemad studied film at the University of Dramatic Arts and in 1973 joined national TV as a script girl. In 1977 she began her directing career as a documentary-filmmaker for television. She shot her first feature film, Kharej az Mahdudeh - Off the Limits in 1987 and in 1991 was the first woman to win the Best Director award at Iran's most prestigious Fajr Film Festival with the film, Nargess. Co-director Mohsen Abdolvahab was born in 1957 in Tehran. Abdolvahab is a graduate in Editing from the IRIB University. He began his cinematic career in 1980, editing over 30 documentary and feature films and producing 23 short documentaries and award-winning feature film documentaries. Previous film collaborations with Rakhshan Bani-Etemad include, Nargess and Gilaneh.