Merila Zarei (; born April 14, 1974) is an Iranian actress. She has received various accolades, including a

Silver Bear The Berlin International Film Festival (), usually called the Berlinale (), is an annual film festival held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festival has been held every February since 1978 and is one of Europ ...

, three Crystal Simorghs, four

Hafez Awards Hafez Awards (Persian: جایزه حافظ) is an annual awards ceremony which honors achievements in Iranian cinema. The awards, first presented in 1997, are presented by Picture World Magazine (Aka. Donyaye Tassvir in Persian) which is why the ...

, four Iran Cinema Celebration Awards and an Iran's Film Critics and Writers Association Award.

Early life

A graduate of Azad University of Tehran, during her studies she became interested in

acting Acting is an activity in which a story is told by means of its enactment by an actor who adopts a character—in theatre, television, film, radio, or any other medium that makes use of the mimetic mode. Acting involves a broad range of sk ...

through Ezatollah Entezami's acting courses. Her first movie was ''Patak'' by Ali Asghar Shadravan in 1994. She received the

Crystal Simorgh The Crystal Simorgh () is an award given by Fajr International Film Festival, Iran's major annual film festival. It is awarded in several categories of International Competition as well as Iranian Cinema Competition. The award's name comes from ...

for the best actress in a

supporting role A supporting character is a character in a narrative that is not the focus of the primary storyline, but is important to the plot/protagonist, and appears or is mentioned in the story enough to be more than just a minor character or a cameo a ...

for ''The Friday's Soldiers'' (2005,

Masoud Kimiai Masoud Kimiai or Masoud Kimiaei, (, ) (born 29 July 1941) is an Iranian director, screenwriter and producer. Biography Without any academic training in cinema or theater, and with only a few years of experience as assistant director, Kimiai ...

), from the 23rd

Fajr International Film Festival Iran's annual Fajr International Film Festival (), or Fajr Film Festival (little: FIFF; ), has been held every February in Tehran since 1983. The festival is supervised by the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance. It takes place on the anni ...

. She is also the winner of best actress of 32nd Fajr International Film Festival.

Personal life

She has a younger sister, Melika Zarei, who is also an actress.

Filmography

Movies: * ''Patak'' by Ali Ashghar Shadervan (1994) * ''Ruy-e Khat-e Marg'' directed by Shafi Aghamohammadian (1995) * ''Zan-e Sharghi'' directed by Rambod Lotfi (1996) * ''Khalaban'' directed by Jamal Shurjeh (1996) * '' Do Zan'' (''Two Women'') directed by Tahmineh Milani (1999) * ''Tekyeh bar bad'' directed by Dariush Farhang (1999) * ''The Fifth Reaction'' (The 5th Reaction) directed by Tahmineh Milani (2001) * ''Eshgh-e Film'' directed by Ebrahim Vahidzadeh (2001) * ''Ham Nafas'' directed by Mehdi Fakhimzadeh (2002) * ''Mo'ādeleh'' directed by Ebrahim Vahidzadeh (2002) * ''Sizdah Gorbeh ruy-e Shirvani'' directed by Ali Abdolalizadeh (2002) * ''Sarbazhaye jome'' (Friday's Soldiers) directed by Masoud Kimiayie (2002) * ''Mojaradha'' directed by Asghar Hashemi (2003) * ''The Unwanted Woman'' directed by Tahmineh Milani (2005) * ''Zagros'' directed by Mohammad Ali Najafi (2004) * ''

Hokm Court piece (also known as Hokm (), Rung (Urdu:) and Rang) is a trick-taking card game similar to the card game whist in which eldest hand makes trumps after the first five cards have been dealt, and trick-play is typically stopped after one pa ...

'' (Verdict) directed by Masoud Kimiayie (2004) * ''Pāpital'' (

Hedera helix ''Hedera helix'', the common ivy, European ivy, King's Choice ivy, or just ivy, is a species of flowering plant in the family Araliaceae. It is native to most of Europe and parts of western Asia. Ivy is a clinging evergreen vine that grows on t ...

) directed by Ardeshir Shelileh (2005) * ''Dasthaye khali'' directed by Abolqasem Talebi (2007) * '' Invitation (Davat)'' directed by

Ebrahim Hatamikia Ebrahim Hatamikia (; born 23 September 1961) is an Iranian film director, screenwriter, cinematographer and actor. Hatamikia is a prolific proponent of films depicting the Iran–Iraq War's impact on Iran. His films are considered some of the be ...

(2008) * ''

About Elly ''About Elly'' (, translit. ''Darbāre-ye Eli'') is a 2009 Iranian drama film. The fourth film by filmmaker Asghar Farhadi, the film examines middle class relationships in Iran. It received universal acclaim. Farhadi won the Silver Bear for ...

'', directed by

Asghar Farhadi Asghar Farhadi ( ; born 7 May 1972)Soureh Movie Database
is an Iranian ...

(2009) * ''Keyfar'' directed by

Hassan Fathi Hassan Fathi (, born 2 September 1959) is an Iranian film director and screenwriter. He's one of the most well known and successful Iranian directors. Fathi is best known for his popular historical TV series. Marriage and Family Hassan Fathi i ...

* ''Digari'' directed by Mehdi Rahmani * '' Nader and Simin, A Separation'', directed by

Asghar Farhadi Asghar Farhadi ( ; born 7 May 1972)Soureh Movie Database
is an Iranian ...

(2011) * '' I Feel Sleepy'' directed by Reza Attaran (2012) * ''Bear'' directed by Khosro Masumi * ''

Hush! Girls Don't Scream ''Hush! Girls Don't Scream'' () is a 2013 Iranian drama film directed by Pouran Derakhshandeh. It is about a woman on death row for killing a man. Most of the film's characters seem to feel her actions were justified, unlike the judicial system of ...

'' directed by

Pouran Derakhshandeh Pourān Derakh'shandeh () (born 27 March 1951 in Kermanshah, Iran) is an Iranian film director, producer, screen writer, and researcher. Career Derakh'shandeh graduated in film directing in 1975 from Advanced School of Television and Cinema (م ...

(2012) * '' Golden Regime '' directed by Reza Sobhani * '' Everything for sale '' directed by Amir Hossein Saghafi (2012) * '' Che '' directed by

(2012) * '' Track 143 '' directed by Narges Abyar (2013) * ''The Little Black Fish'' directed by Majid Esmaeili (2015) * ''

Bodyguard A bodyguard (or close protection officer/operative) is a type of security guard, government law enforcement officer, or servicemember who protects an very important person, important person or group of people, such as high-ranking public offic ...

(2016) * '' Under the Smoky Roof'' (2017) * '' Henas'' (2022) TV series: * ''The Sea People'' directed by Siroos Moghaddam * ''

Mannequin A mannequin (sometimes spelled as manikin and also called a dummy, lay figure, or dress form) is a doll, often articulated, used by artists, tailors, dressmakers, window dressers and others, especially to display or fit clothing and show off dif ...

'' directed by Hossein Soheilizadeh * '' Jeyran directed by

Awards and nominations

* Won

Best Actress - 32nd Fajr International Film Festival (2014), 35th Fajr International Film Festival (2017) * nominated Track 143 Best Actress - 8th Asia Pacific Screen Awards (2014)

References

External links