Amina Maher facts for kids

Amina Maher (Persian: امین ماهر, born 1992) is an artist, activist, and filmmaker. She was born in Iran and now lives in Berlin, Germany. Her films often look at family life, cultural traditions, and how people understand themselves. She uses her art to question common ideas in media and society.

Amina started her film career as a main actor in the movie Ten (2002). This film was directed by Abbas Kiarostami and Mania Akbari. Ten was even nominated for a big award, the Palme d'Or, at the Cannes Film Festival. Since then, Amina has acted in, edited, and been part of many films. These films have been shown at major festivals like the British Film Institute and the International Film Festival Rotterdam.

Her own short films as a director have been very popular around the world. They have been shown at over 200 festivals and won more than 50 awards. Some of these awards came from festivals like the Ann Arbor Film Festival and Shorts México. Three of her short films – Letter to My Mother, Out of Frame, and Where Is the Friend´s Home? – were featured at the Internationales Frauen* Film Fest Dortmund+Köln in 2022.

Amina's creative work often explores memories from her childhood. She also looks at mental well-being and finding your true self. She aims to tell stories that help people understand different life experiences. Her first feature film as a director has been part of important film events like the Berlin International Film Festival.

Biography

Amina Maher was born in 1992 in Tehran, Iran. She began writing poems and short stories when she was very young. Her creative work often explores relationships between people and memories from childhood. She also looks at mental health and how people discover who they are. She wants to share stories that help people understand diverse experiences.

Amina started her film journey as the main actor in the movie Ten. This film showed ten-year-old Amina in her mother's car. Amina left her family when she was fifteen to live on her own.

Between 2006 and 2012, Amina continued working in films. She acted, helped direct, and edited films for her mother, Mania Akbari. These films included 10+4, which was shown at the Cannes Acid Section in 2006. Another film was From Tehran to London, which premiered in 2013. In 2007, she started filming her friends at school and later at university. She faced difficulties due to her support for a political movement in 2009. She was arrested again in 2010 for her political activities. After these events, Amina left Iran and moved to Dubai, then to Malaysia.

In 2016, she earned her bachelor's degree in filmmaking from Limkokwing University in Malaysia. Her first student short film was Cold Wine (2012). She also made Orange and One Window Will Suffice.

Her short film, Letter to My Mother (2019), won many awards. It was shown at over 200 festivals worldwide and received more than 50 awards. The film has been shown at many art-focused film festivals for four years in a row. It was part of the Copenhagen International Documentary Film Festival forum. It also competed at festivals like the 38th Feminale and the 15th Shorts México.

Many reviews described Letter to My Mother as unique and touching. The film explores the complex connection between self-discovery and family life within a cultural setting. It received awards like the Audience Award at the 23rd Indie Memphis Film Festival in the USA. It also won a Special Jury Prize at the 15th Shorts México.

Amina moved to Germany in 2018 because her films were sometimes seen as controversial. After moving to Berlin in 2019, she began studying for her master's degree in film directing. She studies at the Konrad Wolf Film University of Babelsberg. Amina is also an activist who works for equal rights for all people.

Letter to My Mother (2019)

The film Letter to My Mother (2019) was created entirely by Amina Maher. She directed, wrote, acted in, and distributed the film herself.

Letter to My Mother won many awards and was nominated for others. It was shown at over 100 international film festivals in more than 40 countries. Some of these festivals include the 35th Lovers Film Festival in Italy and the 9th Evolution Mallorca International Film Festival in Spain.

Other selections and participations

• 10th Sicilia Queer filmfest, Italy
• 15th Queer Xposed Film Festival, Berlin-Germany
• Broadway Cinematheque, Hong Kong Asian Film Festival, Hong Kong
• 12th KASHISH Mumbai International Queer Film Festival, India
• 15th Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival, SMHAF, Scotland - Winner of the Best Experimental Film
• 9th Evolution Mallorca International Film Festival, Spain (2015)
• Chennai International Queer Film Festival

Life and other activities

When Amina was a child, her real-life relationship with her mother, Mania Akbari, was shown in the movie Ten. Four years later, Amina played the main role in her mother's film 10+4. This film continued the story of Ten and showed Akbari's fight with breast cancer. 10+4 was shown at the Cannes International Film Festival and received good reviews. After this, Amina continued her film work as an actress, editor, and assistant director for her mother on other projects. These included 6 Video Arts and From Tehran to London.

In 2010, Amina started studying at Tehran University. A couple of months later, she was arrested for her political activities. She had attended a student demonstration. After this, she left Iran to study filmmaking at Limkokwing University in Malaysia. There, she directed several short films. Her first fictional short film, Sweet Gin and Cold Wine, was nominated for an award in Germany. It also won an award at the Creative Open International Film Festival in 2016.

Artworks

As actress

• Ten (2002, as herself the main character)
• Repression (2004) (video art)
• Escape (2004) (video art)
• 10 + 4 (2007)
• Sweet Gin and Cold Wine (2014)
• Orange (2015)
• Letter to My Mother (2019, as herself)
• Out of Frame (Production Year: 2015, completion year: 2021, release year: 2022)
• Where Is The Friend´s Home? (completion year: 2020, release year: 2023, as herself)

As director

• Sweet Gin and Cold Wine (2014)
• Orange (2015)
• Letter to My Mother (2019)
• Out of Frame (production year: 2015, completion year: 2021, release year: 2022)
• Where Is The Friend´s Home? (completion year: 2020, release year: 2023)

As editor

• Letter to My Mother (2019)
• Out of Frame (production year: 2015, completion year:2021, release year: 2022)
• Where Is The Friend´s Home? (completion year: 2020, release year: 2023)

Book

• Start counting from eleven (poem, 2013)