Tahmineh Milani facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Tahmineh Milāni
تهمینه میلانی
Tehmineh Milani in 2017
Born	(1960-09-06) 6 September 1960 (age 64) Tabriz, Iran
Occupation	Film director, producer, screenwriter, architect
Years active	1980–present
Spouse(s)	Mohammad Nikbin
Relatives	Ahmad Milani (father)

Tahmineh Milāni (born in 1960) is an Iranian film director and producer. She is also known for being an activist who supports women's rights. Her movies often explore important social issues in Iran.

Early Life and Education

Tahmineh Milāni was born in 1960 in Tabriz, a city in Iran. She studied architecture at the Iran University of Science and Technology in Tehran. She finished her studies in 1986.

After college, she started her career in filmmaking. In 1979, she attended a workshop about movies. Then, she worked as a script girl and an assistant director.

Directing Movies

Milāni has directed many movies that have won awards. Some of her famous films include Two Women, The Fifth Reaction, and The Unwanted Woman.

Exploring Social Issues

Her films often focus on cultural or social problems. She especially highlights women's rights and the changes that happened during the 1979 Iranian Revolution. Milāni believes that a big challenge in Iran is that people cannot always show their true selves. She says that many Iranian men and women live "double lives."

Early Film Style

Milāni's first movies were like fables or stories with a lesson. For example, her 1990 film Efsanye-e Ah (The Legend of a Sigh) tells the story of a writer who is not doing well. She becomes friends with her own sigh of sadness. This sigh then shows her other women who have bigger problems but are still happy.

Two years later, in Dige Che Khabar (What Did You Do Again?), Milāni told the story of a young girl. This girl had a special power to change her family just by talking to herself. Some people in Iran tried to stop this film. They even told her to change the main girl character to a boy.

Later Film Themes

In her later movies, Milāni started using a more dramatic style. She focused more on issues between genders. Her female characters often faced strong challenges and unfair treatment.

Her 2001 film Nimeh-e Pinhan (The Hidden Half) was about a university student who disagreed with the government of Shah Mohammad Rezā Shāh Pahlavi. The movie also had a love story that some people did not like. Even though she had permission to make the film, she was put in prison in 2001.

Many famous film directors from around the world, like Francis Ford Coppola and Martin Scorsese, spoke out for her. Because of this support, she was released after two weeks. However, the official charges against her were not dropped.

Tahmineh Milani in 2008

Milāni's 2005 film Unwanted Woman is about a woman who has to hide a trip with her friend. This is because of a rule that did not allow unmarried couples to travel together. Vakonesh Panjom (The Fifth Reaction), released in 2003, is about a woman who leaves her wealth and children after her husband dies.

The Fifth Reaction is Milāni's seventh movie about women's place in society. It talks about problems like sexism and social inequality. It also highlights laws that do not fully support women's rights, especially in child custody cases. Milāni aims to make women aware and inspire them to fight for their rights. While her films might be a bit exaggerated for the big screen, their topics show clear connections to life in Iran.

In 2007, Milāni announced that she would create a TV series about AIDS. It was called The Positive Pals Club. Her film Yeki Az Mā Do Nafar (One of Our Two) was shown in Iranian cinemas in 2011. She also wrote and directed a film called Principles.

In 2016, Milāni had an exhibition of her photographs at the Ariana Gallery in Tehran.

Plagiarism Accusations

In September 2018, after an art show of Milāni's paintings in Tehran, some people on social media said she had copied the work of a Russian artist named Jenny Meilihove. Milāni apologized and said that an image she had seen before had stayed in her mind. She said she would remove the painting and give any money from the exhibit to charity. She also took legal action against the art gallery for closing her exhibition early.

In 2019, during another exhibition of her paintings, Milāni was again accused of copying from four different artists. The council that oversees art galleries gave a warning to the gallery. They said the gallery had not checked the artworks properly. Milāni posted on her Instagram that she gets inspiration from "everything and everyone."

Personal Life

Tahmineh Milāni is married to Mohammad Nikbin. He is an Iranian actor and producer.

Filmography

Awards and Nominations

See also

• Iranian women's movement
• Iranian women
• Iranian cinema