
1.Tahmineh Milani is a well accomplished Iranian film director, screenwriter, and producer. Many people claim her to be the best Iranian filmmaker there is. She was born in 1960 in Tabriz, Iran. She brought up some controversy with her film The Hidden Half. In August of 2001, she was imprisoned for supposedly "supporting those waging war against God" and "misusing the arts in support of counterrevolutionary and armed opposition of groups." Despite being imprisoned, she still continues to make films in what she believes in.
2. The following are some of the films she has directed:
Children of Divorce 1989
The Legend of a Sigh 1991
What else is New? 1992
Kakado 1996
Two Women 1999
The Hidden Half 2001
The Fifth Reaction 2003
The Unwanted Woman 2005
Atash bas 2006
In her 2001 film that she was imprisoned for (The Hidden Half), she depicted the events of the 1979 Islamic Revolution and was charged with counterrevolutionaries. The film is about a woman's memories of working with leftist rebels in her college days during the revolution. Luckily, Khatani's reformist government defended her, and she got out of jail in two weeks. The reformist government also approved the film before it was made.
3. " I have seen Two Women, The Hidden Half, and The Legend of a Sigh. I suggest viewing all of her films. The films themselves offer unique windows to world we typically assign unrelenting stereotypes.
As I said, I had seen some her films before and have kept an interest in her and Iranian film in general. I think she is a fantastic director and a wonderful example of women of color directing film that portrays their realities." -Chelsea Burris
Also, find out what PBS thinks about Milani at http://www.pbs.org/adventuredivas/iran/divas/milani.html
And the New York Times: http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9A0DE4DD103CF932A35757C0A9669C8B63
4. Milani's work is known internationally. It can be found at different film festivals around the world. She has won different awards at different places in the world:
Grand Prix for Best Film, Geneva Film Festival, 2003
Audience Award, 14th Annual Festival of Films from Iran, Chicago, 2003
Cairo International Film Festival, 2003
Festival of Films from Iran, Boston Museum of Fine Arts, 2003
5. It was fairly easy to find basic information on Tahmineh Milani. I had not heard of her before I did this project. After I began to research her, she sounds like a very astonishing woman with a lot to say. Apparently, when she became imprisoned, it was not so easy to find information about the situation.
"…As a person who thinks about the health of my society, I try to make films that will create a movement so there will be discussions and debates. I'm even willing to pay the price, really, even if they swear at me, make me look really bad, as long as the issues are talked about and the opponents and proponents exchange their opinions…" Tahmineh Milani