Leila Hatami

She played her first lead role in the drama Leila (1997) as a barren woman, for which she won the Diploma of Honor at the Fajr Film Festival and gained public attention. Her portrayal of a naive woman in Penniless (2009) earned her the Crystal Simorgh for Best Actress at the Fajr Film Festival, and she later won the award again for her portrayal of a disordered woman in Subdued (2017). She has also been nominated for the Crystal Simorgh for her roles in Sheida (1999), The Deserted Station (2002), Season Salad (2005), Forty Years Old (2010), A Separation (2011), The Orange Suit (2012) and Time to Love (2015). Hatami won the Montreal World Film Festival Award for Best Actress for her performance in The Deserted Station (2002). She won the Silver Bear for Best Actress at the Berlin International Film Festival for her performance in the drama A Separation (2011). In 2017, IndieWire praised her performance in the film as one of the best performances of the 21st century and considered Hatami deserved one Oscar Award for her performance in it. She received the Crystal Globe for Best Actress at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival for her performance in The Last Step (2012). In 2012, she was appointed Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters by the French government. She has been included in the list of the most beautiful women in the Middle East by the website Wonderslist.

Leila Hatami studied at Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne. The recorded working language is Persian. Positions recorded include jury at the Cannes Festival and jury at the Venice International Film Festival. Distinctions recorded are Knight of the Legion of Honour, Silver Bear for Best Actress, Honorary Cyclo d'or and Crystal Simorgh for Best Actress.

• Name — Leila Hatami • Native Name — لیلا حاتمی • Born — 1 October 1972 • Birthplace — Tehran, Imperial State of Iran • Occupation — Actress • Education — École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne • Years Active — 1984–present • Parents — Ali Hatami Zari Khoshkam • Children — 2 • Relatives — Amir Banoo Karimi (mother-in-law)

• Illustration — Hatami as a child with her parents Ali Hatami and Zari Khoshkam Leila Hatami was born on 1 October 1972, in Tehran, Iran, to influential Iranian director Ali Hatami and actress Zari Khoshkam. Leila first appeared in a film when she was 10, set in the times of the 19th century Iranian painter Kamal-ol-Molk. In it, she played the painter as a young boy. Then eight years later in 1992, she appeared in another one of her father’s films called Love-stricken where she played a blind princess. However she did not originally intend to pursue acting. In high school, she studied mathematical physics. After finishing high school, she moved to Lausanne, Switzerland and started her studies in mechanical engineering at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL). After two years Hatami changed her major to French literature. She completed her study of French. Then her father became ill and she went back to Iran. He died in 1996. That same year, she played her first adult role in drama Leila which was directed by film director Dariush Mehrjui. Her acting received praise both inside and outside of Iran.

Hatami played several small roles in her father's productions throughout her youth, including in the Hezar Dastan television series and the Kamalolmolk movie. Her first leading film appearance was the title role in the 1997 film Leila, directed by Dariush Mehrjui. She received the Diploma of Honor for Best Actress from the 15th Fajr Film Festival. Following this, she continued to act regularly in Iranian cinema. She has starred in dozens of films, and has often garnered critical acclaim and accolades. For her performance in The Deserted Station (2002), she was nominated for the Fajr Film Festival Award for Best Actress and Hatami won the Best Actress Award at the 26th Montreal World Film Festival. She has appeared in her husband's films as a director, Portrait of a Lady Far Away (2005) and The Last Step (2012). She also designed the sets and the costumes of The Last Step and, in addition to receiving the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival Award for Best Actress for her performance, she received a nomination for the Crystal Simorgh Fajr Film Festival Award for Best Production Design and Costume Design for her work on the film. • Illustration — Hatami at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival In 2012, Hatami received international attention for her role in the critically acclaimed Asghar Farhadi film, A Separation, which won dozens of accolades, including the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Her performance earned critical acclaim and various awards, including the Silver Bear Award for Best Actress at the Berlin Film Festival. IndieWire praised her portrayal as one of the best female performances of the 21st century. In June 2017, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences invited Hatami to become a member.

• 2001 - Dubai Short Film Festival • 2006 - 41st Karlovy Vary Film Festival – Main competition • 2011 - Marrakech Film Festival • 2011 - Deauville Film Festival • 2012 - Rome Film Festival • 2012 - Kastendorf Film Festival (Jury President) • 2013 - Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival • 2014 - 67th Cannes Film Festival – Main competition • 2022 - Vesoul Film Festival of Asian Cinema (Jury President) • 2022 - 79th Venice Film Festival – Main competition

Hatami married Ali Mosaffa, her co-star in Leila (1997) in 1998. They have two children: a son named Mani (born February 2007) and a daughter named Asal (born October 2008). Beside her native Persian language she is fluent in French, English, and German.

• Year — Title — Role — Director — Platform — Notes • 2019 — Blue Whale — Anahita Kashef — Fereydoun Jeyrani — Filimo — Recurring role • 2022–2024 — Women's Secret Network — Delbar — Afshin Hashemi — Namava — Main role

• Year — Title — Role — Director — Network — Notes • 1977 — Divorce — Bahare — Massoud Asadollahi — NIRT — Episode: "Addicted" • 1987 — Hezar Dastan — Young Amine-aghdas — Ali Hatami — IRIB TV1 — 1 episode • Mr. Hekayati — Iraj Tahmasb — IRIB TV1 — Children's TV show • 1984 — Guys Wake Up, Guys Be Alert — Herself — Marzieh Boroumand • 2000 — The English Briefcase — Mastaneh Pirayesh — Ziaeddin Dorri — IRIB TV1 — Main role • 2007 — Paridokht — Paridokht — Saman Moghaddam — IRIB TV2 — Main role

• Illustration — Hatami (second from left) alongside fellow jury members at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival In April 2014, she was announced as a member of the main competition jury at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival. Whilst there, Hatami greeted 83-year-old Cannes Film Festival President Gilles Jacob with a kiss on the cheek, which is a common form of greeting in France. Iran's Deputy Culture Minister Hossein Noushabadi criticized her for this, saying: I hope that those who attend international arenas as Iranian women would be careful about the chastity and dignity of Iranians so that the image of the Iranian woman is not tainted before the world. "If they respect Islamic norms and the national culture and beliefs of Iran, it would be a desirable thing for Iranian celebrities to go abroad, but if their presence lacks regard for social values and ethical criteria, the Iranian nation is not going to accept it. In May 2014, after receiving significant backlash for the kiss in Iran—including calls for her to be jailed and flogged—Hatami later apologized for her actions in a letter.

• Year — Title — Role — Director — Notes • 1984 — 'Kamalolmolk' — Young Kamal-ol-molk — Ali Hatami • 1992 — Love-stricken — Leila — Ali Hatami • 1997 — Leila — Leila — Dariush Mehrjui • 1999 — Sheida — Sheida Fatemi — Kamal Tabrizi • 2000 — The Mix — Ms. Salimi — Dariush Mehrjui — Cameo appearance • 2001 — Water and Fire — Maryam — Fereydoun Jeyrani • Sweet Jam — Jalal's Mother — Marzieh Boroomand • 2002 — The Deserted Station — Mahtab — Alireza Raeesian • Low Heights — Narges — Ebrahim Hatamikia • 2005 — Season Salad — Leila — Fereydoun Jeyrani • Portrait of a Lady Far Away — The Young Lady — Ali Mosaffa • Poet of the Wastes — The Young Lady — Mohammad Ahmadi • The Command — Foroozandeh — Masoud Kimiai • 2007 — Every Night, Loneliness — Atiyeh — Rasoul Sadrameli • 2008 — Shirin — Woman in Audience — Abbas Kiarostami • 2009 — Penniless — Shokouh — Hamid Nematollah • 2010 — Forty Years Old — Negar — Alireza Raeesian • A Walk in the Fog — Roya — Bahram Tavakkoli • There Are Things You Don't Know — Doctor — Fardin Sahebzamani • 2011 — Felicity Land — Yasi — Maziar Miri • A Separation — Simin — Asghar Farhadi • Beloved Sky — The Lady — Dariush Mehrjui • 2012 — The Last Step — Leyli — Ali Mosaffa — Also costume designer • The Orange Suit — Nahal Nahavandi — Dariush Mehrjui • Meeting Leila — Leila — Adel Yaraghi • 2013 — The Sealed Secret — Saba — Hadi Moghaddamdoost • 2014 — What's the Time in Your World? — Goli Ebtehaj — Safi Yazdanian • 2015 — Time to Love — Bita Tamadon — Alireza Raeesian • 2016 — I — Azar Mirzaei — Soheil Beiraghi • 2017 — Subdued — Mina — Hamid Nematollah • 2018 — The Last Fiction — Shahrzad (Voice) — Ashkand Rahgozar — Animation • Pig — Shiva Mohajer — Mani Haghighi • Bomb: A Love Story — Mitra — Peyman Moaadi • Tale of the Sea — Parvaneh — Bahman Farmanara • 2019 — A Man Without a Shadow — Saye Tamadon — Alireza Raeesian • We Are All Together — Mrs. Mozhdehi — Kamal Tabrizi • 2022 — Imagine — Various — Ali Behrad • 2024 — The Old Bachelor — Rana — Oktay Baraheni • 2025 — The Killer and the Savage — Ziba — Hamid Nematollah • A Time in Eternity — Maryam — Mehdi Norowzian • The Way of the Wind — Mary Magdalene — Terrence Malick — Completed • The Rook — Hamid Nematollah — Post-production