Mahnaz Mohammadi (; born 1 January 1975,

Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...

) is an

Iranian Iranian () may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Iran ** Iranian diaspora, Iranians living outside Iran ** Iranian architecture, architecture of Iran and parts of the rest of West Asia ** Iranian cuisine, cooking traditions and practic ...

filmmaker Filmmaking or film production is the process by which a Film, motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, beginning with an initial story, idea, or commission. Production then continues through screen ...

and

women's rights Women's rights are the rights and Entitlement (fair division), entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st c ...

activist. She wrote and directed her first film in 2003, "Women Without Shadows", depicting the lives of homeless and abandoned women in a state-run shelter, has been shown and awarded in several international film festivals. Mahnaz wrote, directed and produced various documentaries, including "Travelogue" another award-winning film that was shown in 2010 at the event "A Day in Tehran" created by the Cinematheque in Paris. She has been also active in the

women's movement The feminist movement, also known as the women's movement, refers to a series of social movements and political campaigns for radical and liberal reforms on women's issues created by inequality between men and women. Such issues are women's ...

. She was awarded the freedom of speech awards, George 2015, from Austria.

Film career

Women Without Shadows (2003)

Mahnaz Mohammadi wrote and directed her first film in 2003, "Women Without Shadows" produced by Amir Samavati. This film, depicting the lives of homeless and abandoned women in a state-run shelter, has been shown and awarded in several international film festivals.

Travelogue (2008)

She wrote, directed and produced herself various documentaries, including "Travelogue" another award-winning film. Shot in the train between

and

Ankara Ankara is the capital city of Turkey and List of national capitals by area, the largest capital by area in the world. Located in the Central Anatolia Region, central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5,290,822 in its urban center ( ...

, the director met and questioned passengers about the reasons that lead them to leave their country. This film was shown in 2010 at the event "A Day in Tehran" created by the Cinematheque in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, with Mohammadi in attendance. Since the publishing of this film, Iranian authorities have refused her to leave the country, including after she was invited to the

Cannes film festival The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world. Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...

for the film "Wedding Ephemerals" directed by Reza Serkanian, in which she plays the main character.

We Are Half the Iran's Population (2009)

Mahnaz Mohammadi has also contributed to famous filmmaker Rakhshan Bani-Etemad's documentary "We Are Half the Iran's Population" portraying the demands of Iranian women in the disputed presidential elections of 2009, which gave Mahmoud Ahmadinejad a second term in office. In 2011 the film was screened at the Viennese film festival "This Human World."

Son-Mother (2019)

Mahnaz Directed her first fiction feature film “Son-Mother” in 2019 that was premiered in the 44th Toronto international film festival. The film has been awarded The Amnesty award of Febio Fest film Festival in Prague, The Audience award of Istanbul Film Festival and Special jury award of Rome Film Fest 2020. Son-Mother has attended numerous international film festivals such as Zurich Film Festival, Alice Nella Citta in Italy, CPH:PIX in Copenhagen, AFI FEST Los Angeles, International Film Festival of India in Goa, Rio de Janeiro International Film Festival, Göteborg International Film Festival, Glasgow Film Festival, Edinburgh Iranian Film Festival, Hong Kong International Film Festival, ZLIN - International Film Festival for Children and Youth & FilmFesr Hamburg.

Awards

Son-Mother Feature Film * The Amnesty award of Febio Fest film Festival - Prague * The Audience award of Istanbul Film Festival * The Special jury award of Rome Film Fest 2020 Women without Shadows Documentary * Best directing nomination in Iran Khane Cinema Festival * Best Film in Female Filmmakers Festival Travelogue Documentary * Best Film nomination in Cinema vérité Film Festival * Special Jury Prize in Parvin Etesami Film Festival

Legal issues

Her arrest on 26 June 2011 was the third since 2007. She was arrested for the first time in March 2007 along with 32 other women's rights activists while peacefully protesting the trial of five of her fellow women's rights activists in front of a Tehran court. She stayed in jail for 3 weeks. Mohammadi was also arrested in August 2009 at

Behesht-e Zahra Behesht-e Zahra ( ; ) is the largest cemetery in Iran. Located in the southern part of metropolitan Tehran, it is connected to the city by Tehran Metro Line 1. History In the early 1950s, all the cemeteries in Tehran were supposed to be replac ...

cemetery as she laid a wreath on the grave of

Neda Agha-Soltan Neda Agha-Soltan ( – ''Nedā Āghā-Soltān''; 23 January 1983 – 20 June 2009) was an Iranian student of philosophy, who was participating in the 2009 Iranian presidential election protests, 2009 presidential election protests with ...

, the 26-year-old woman who was shot and killed by a sniper during the crackdowns on protests against the re-election of Iranian President

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (born Mahmoud Sabbaghian on 28 October 1956) is an Iranian Iranian principlists, principlist and Iranian nationalism, nationalist politician who served as the sixth president of Iran from 2005 to 2013. He is currently a mem ...

. She was arrested with a lot of people including famous director

Jafar Panahi Jafar Panâhi (, ) (born 11 July 1960) is an Iranian film director, screenwriter, and editor. He is known internationally for his contributions to Iranian cinema and has received numerous awards at major film festivals, including the Palme d'Or ...

They were released after one day. After her release on

bail Bail is a set of pre-trial restrictions that are imposed on a suspect to ensure that they will not hamper the judicial process. Court bail may be offered to secure the conditional release of a defendant with the promise to appear in court when ...

on 28 July 2011, also due to international pressure, Mahnaz Mohammadi continued under close state observation by

Iranian intelligence The Ministry of Intelligence of the Islamic Republic of Iran (), also known as the Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS), is the primary intelligence agency, and secret police force, of the Islamic Republic of Iran and a member of the ...

, her

passport A passport is an official travel document issued by a government that certifies a person's identity and nationality for international travel. A passport allows its bearer to enter and temporarily reside in a foreign country, access local aid ...

was withheld by the court and the ban to work as a filmmaker has remained in place since 2009. Her home was repeatedly searched by intelligence, and her personal items, work equipment and film material have been regularly confiscated. Her health has severely deteriorated during her last detention. On Saturday, June 7, 2014, the Iranian women's rights activist and filmmaker was again arrested. She was sentenced to five years in prison for "endangering national security" and "propaganda against the Iranian regime." Iranian authorities have accused her of working for the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

, a charge which apparently carries the assumption of

espionage Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering, as a subfield of the intelligence field, is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information ( intelligence). A person who commits espionage on a mission-specific contract is called an ...

in the Iranian legal system. Mohammadi denies ever having worked with the network, and has stated that her interrogators tried pressuring her into admitting she had in exchange for leniency. At the 64th

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world. Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...

, filmmaker

Costa-Gavras Konstantinos "Kostas" Gavras (; born 12 February 1933), known professionally as Costa-Gavras, is a Greek-French film director, screenwriter, and producer who lives and works in France. He is known for political films, such as the political thril ...

read a letter that Mohammadi sent from

: "I am a woman and a film maker, two reasons sufficient to be treated like a criminal in this country"