Giusy Castiglione

Abbas Kiarostami (1940-2016) was an Iranian director, screenwriter, and producer. From 1970 to 2012, he made and directed over 40 short films, documentaries, and feature films, becoming one of the most respected figures of the Iranian New Wave and world cinema. He gained critical acclaim, particularly for his Koker Trilogy, Taste of Cherry, and The Wind Will Carry Us. He was a leading figure in the Iranian New Wave, a movement considered to have begun in 1969 with Dariush Mehrjui's film Gav. This movement, which included directors such as Forugh Farrokhzad, Sohrab Shahid Saless, Behram Beyzaie, and Parviz Kayanian, was characterized by poetic dialogue and allegorical storytelling related to political and philosophical issues. In the 1970s, alongside numerous short films, he made his feature film debut with Gozaresh (The Report) in 1977. His 1987 film Khane-ye doust kodjast? (Where Is the Friend's Home?) won the Bronze Leopard at the Locarno Film Festival. His 1990 film Close-Up, a masterful cinematic adaptation of a true story using real people and a documentary-style narrative, achieved great success. His 1997 film Taste of Cherry (Tam-e gilas) won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. In 2010, he made his first film outside Iran, Certified Copy, starring Juliette Binoche. This was followed by Like Someone in Love, a Japanese production in 2012, which was his final film. In early 2016, Kiarostami fell into a coma due to internal bleeding and was hospitalized. He was diagnosed with colon cancer. He traveled to Paris for treatment in June, but died there on July 4, 2016. His funeral was held on July 10 in Lavasan, Iran. Following his death, many prominent figures in the cinema world, including fellow Iranian directors Mohsen Makhmalbaf and Asghar Farhadi, offered their condolences. He was married to Parvin Amir-Gholi from 1969 to 1982, and they had two sons, Ahmed (b. 1971) and Bahman (b. 1978). Kiarostami is known for using child protagonists, documentary-style storytelling, stories set in rural areas, dialogues taking place in cars, and generally shooting with a static camera. His use of Iranian poetry in his dialogues, film titles, and themes is another distinctive feature. In addition to frequently serving as screenwriter, editor, art director, and producer, he was also a poet, photographer, painter, illustrator, and graphic designer.