Biography
Abbas Kiarostami (Persian: عباس کیارستمی [ʔæbˌbɒːs kijɒːɾostæˈmi] ; 22 June 1940 – 4 July 2016) was an Iranian film director, screenwriter, poet, photographer, and film producer. An active filmmaker from 1970, Kiarostami had been involved in the production of over forty films, including shorts and documentaries. Kiarostami attained critical acclaim for directing the Koker trilogy (1987–1994), Close-Up (1990), The Wind Will Carry Us (1999), and Taste of Cherry (1997), which was awarded the Palme ...
Known For
Complete Filmography

Bukhara Chronicles
2025
as voice
Ali Dehbashi, the editor-in-chief of Bukhara Magazine, is forced to vacate his rented office. While struggling with asthma and the pressure of publish...
A Conversation on The Report
2022
Director
Viewing Kiarostami’s lesser-known great film, accompanied by his own interpretation, is like sitting in on a filmmaking masterclass. Invited by “Pig” ...

Leech
2021
as himself (voice)
Leeches a film by bahman kiarostami

The Mirror of Possible Worlds: Kiarostami on Aran
2020
“Nature, the inexhaustible resource of encounters worthy of speechless communication,” declares Abbas Kiarostami in Fergus Daly’s beautiful journey. H...

2019
as Self
A short documentary from footage of the making of Kiarostami's 2017 film 24 FRAMES.

24 Frames
2018
Director
A collection of 24 short four-and-a-half minutes films inspired by still images, including paintings and photographs. An experimental project made by ...

Final Exam
2017
Screenplay
Farhad, a respected math teacher, is engaged to the mother of one of his pupils. But rather than embrace his new father figure, the angry young studen...

76 Minutes and 15 seconds with Abbas Kiarostami
2016
as Himself
Kiarostami as we have never really known him before, despite the transformative power of his many movies. Filmmaker and close friend Samadian avoids t...

Take Me Home
2016
Director, Cinematography
Abbas Kiarostami takes his camera to south of Italy and shows us a beautiful and playful video of alleys and stairs there.

Passenger
2016
Director, Writer, Screenplay
A 9-minute short directed by Abbas Kiarostami, produced as part of a workshop in Cuba.

Cabeza de gallo
2016
Supervising Producer
After a fight, a woman patiently awaits for her husband while the sadness and loneliness tear apart her heart.

Vida
2014
as Himself
Acclaimed Iranian film director Abbas Kiarostami, delivers a film workshop in Bogotá, the filmmakers conclude by proposing a short film in 10 days. Di...

The Poetry of Cinema: Abbas Kiarostami in Conversation with Richard Peña
2014
Onstage interview with filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami and Richard Richard Peña

What Is Cinema?
2013
as Self
Using the words and ideas of great filmmakers, from archival interviews with Alfred Hitchcock and Robert Bresson to new interviews with Mike Leigh, Da...

Venice 70: Future Reloaded
2013
Director
Made for the Venice Film Festival's 70th anniversary, seventy filmmakers made a short film between 60 and 90 seconds long on their interpretation of t...

Venezia 70 Future Reloaded - Abbas Kiarostami
2013
Director

The Girl in the Lemon Factory
2013
Co-Writer, Editor

Abbas Kiarostami: A Report
2013
as Self
A look at the formation of the career of Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami.

Making of 'Like Someone in Love'
2012
as Narrator
Documentary with behind-the-scenes footage on the set of Abbas Kiarostomi's 2012 film "Like Someone in Love" with narration by the director.

Like Someone in Love
2012
Director, Screenplay
An old man and a young woman meet in Tokyo. She knows nothing about him, he thinks he knows her. He welcomes her into his home, she offers him her bod...

Meeting Leila
2012
Writer
The only nuptial condition an inveterate chain smoker receives from his perfume-testing fiancee is to quit smoking. This poses a problem for the adver...

Kurosawa's Way
2011
as Self
Eleven major film makers from Europe, America and Asia talk about Akira Kurosawa and discover surprising influences on their own work.

Guest
2011
as Self
Filmmaker José Luis Guerin documents his experience during a year of traveling as a guest of film festivals to present his previous film. What emerges...

No
2010
Director
A little girl with beautiful hair. She loves movies and wants to become an actress. She is being told about the plot of a movie that she is going to p...

Sodankylä Forever
2010
as Self
The Midnight Sun Film Festival is held every June in the Finnish village of Sodankylä beyond the arctic circle — where the sun never sets. Founded by ...

Certified Copy
2010
Director, Screenplay
In Tuscany to promote his latest book, a middle-aged English writer meets a French woman who leads him to the village of Lucignano.

In Praise of the Seventy Years Old
2010
as Self
This interview-based documentary is made on the occasion of the 70th birthday of Aydin Aghdashloo, Mohammad Ehsaei and Abbas Kiarostami, and deals wit...

Let's See Copia Conforme
2010
as Self
A behind-the-scenes documentary on the making of Abbas Kiarostami’s "Certified Copy" (2010).

Shirin
2009
Director, Editor, Producer
A hundred and fourteen famous Iranian theater and cinema actresses and a French star: mute spectators at a theatrical representation of Khosrow and Sh...

Taste of Shirin
2008
as Himself
A short documentary about the making of Abbas Kiarostami's 'Shirin'.

Seagull Eggs
2008
Director
We can see rocks on a sea shore, with cavities, in one of them, the highest, there are 3 seagull eggs, and the waves slam that rock.

To Each His Own Cinema
2007
Director
Commissioned to mark the 60th anniversary of the Cannes Film Festival, "To Each His Own Cinema" brought together 33 of the world's pre-eminent filmmak...

Pierre Rissient: Man of Cinema
2007
Cinematography
A veteran film critic explores the legacy of Cannes Film Festival regular Pierre Rissient.

Persian Carpet
2007
Director, Screenplay
Persian Carpet is an omnibus film produced by Iran's National Carpet Center and Farabi Cinema Foundation where 15 renowned Iranian directors contribut...

Where Is My Romeo?
2007
Director
Various Iranian women watch Romeo and Juliet and cry.

Víctor Erice – Abbas Kiarostami: Correspondences
2007
as himself
Relationships and multiple influences between two great directors of modern cinema.

Víctor Erice – Abbas Kiarostami: Correspondences
2007
Director, Writer, Editor
Relationships and multiple influences between two great directors of modern cinema.
Almost Brooklyn
2007
Supervising Producer
A gorgeous and smart film by Daniel Garcia and Rania Attieh, Almost, Brooklyn, gives us an old man doing just what audiences did, crossing the bridge....

Roads of Kiarostami
2006
as Self
Static shots of his photos alternate with footage of director Abbas Kiarostami's car winding through mountain roads, as the Iranian filmmaker muses in...

Roads of Kiarostami
2006
Director, Editor, Director of Photography
Static shots of his photos alternate with footage of director Abbas Kiarostami's car winding through mountain roads, as the Iranian filmmaker muses in...
Rug
2006
Screenplay, Director
In this guided tour of a unique Persian carpet, a close-up of the delicate "spine" of a tree branches out into the discovery of a fantastical world.

Men at Work
2006
Screenplay
A political allegory on four middle-class guys who pile into their car for a ski weekend. A brief stop at a picturesque vista leads to their chance di...

10 Days with Kiarostami
2005
as Self
10 Days with Kiarostami

On the Road with Kiarostami
2005
as Himself
Abbas Kiarostami is the most acclaimed Iranian film director whose films have won prizes all around the world. In this film he gives a rare and frank ...

Tickets
2005
Director, Screenplay
A train travels across Italy toward Rome. On board is a professor who daydreams a conversation with a love that never was, a family of Albanian refuge...

TropiAbbas
2005
as Abbas Kiarostami
An Iranian filmmaker, a female taxi driver and a class a about cinema.

Around Five
2005
as himself
Abbas Kiarostami on his film Five Dedicated to Ozu.

A Good Time for Tragedy
2005
as Himself
A documentary dealing with the life of Ahmadreza Ahmadi, an Iranian Poet.

Around Five
2005
Director
Abbas Kiarostami on his film Five Dedicated to Ozu.

Friday's Soldiers
2004
Title Designer
The story of four soldiers who on a Friday go to the city with their commander. But this Friday is different and brings many troubles for them which c...

10 on Ten
2004
as Self
"10 on Ten" is a 2004 Iranian documentary film directed by Abbas Kiarostami. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2004 Cannes Film ...

10 on Ten
2004
Director, Producer, Writer
"10 on Ten" is a 2004 Iranian documentary film directed by Abbas Kiarostami. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2004 Cannes Film ...

Journey to the Land of the Traveler
2004
Twenty years after The Traveler was made, Kiarostami's son filmed his father as he reunited with the film's child star, now in his 30s.

Five Dedicated to Ozu
2003
Director, Director of Photography, Screenplay
Finding himself in a house in the north of Iran by the Caspian Sea, the director picked up his handheld DV camera and began filming the seemingly anod...

A Walk with Kiarostami
2003
as Self
U.S.-based film professor Jamsheed Akrami talks to Iranian master Abbas Kiarostami in an inpromptu video interview, which offers a frank and funny vie...

Crimson Gold
2003
Writer
Pizza man Hussein is a daily witnesses to the unjust distribution of wealth in his native Iran. One day, he finds a purse filled with shockingly expen...

Willow and Wind
2003
Screenplay
A boy breaks a window at his school and sets out to fix it on his own during a storm.

Chaplin Today: 'The Kid'
2003
as Self
This documentary is featured on the two-disc Chaplin Collection DVD for "The Kid" (1921), released in 2004.

Abbas Kiarostami: The Art of Living
2003
as Self
Through an interview with Kiarostami in the Aran Islands and interviews with film critics and scholars at Cannes, the director examines Kiarostami's t...

Ten
2002
Editor, Director, Director of Photography
A visual social examination in the form of ten conversations between a driving woman and her various pick-ups and hitchhikers.

Deserted Station
2002
Writer
On a pilgrimage to Mashad from Tehran, a couple's transportation breaks down, far from any major town. The husband, a photographer, seeks help at a ne...

Abbas Kiarostami: Leçon de cinéma
2002
as (himself)
Abbas Kiarostami about the making of "The Wind Will Carry Us"

ABC Africa
2001
as Self
Abbas Kiarostami shoots a documentary about the AIDS crisis in Uganda.

ABC Africa
2001
Director, Writer, Producer
Abbas Kiarostami shoots a documentary about the AIDS crisis in Uganda.
Abbas Kiarostami commente son film
2001

The Key
2000
Editor, Screenplay
Calamity by four-year old might be another title for this tense, humorous drama. In the story, a four year old boy (Mohammed Aladpoush) is left at hom...

Kiarostami in Close up
2000
as as Self
A documentary that focuses on Abbas Kiarostami's cinematic philosophy talking to himself and other figures, and also seeks the opinion about his works...

A Week With Kiarostami
1999
as himself
Mohara Yuji's documentary A Week with Kiarostami, filmed on the set of The Wind Will Carry Us. A photographic diary, the film plunges us into the beat...

The Wind Will Carry Us
1999
Director, Editor, Producer
Irreverent city engineer Behzad comes to a rural Kurdish village in Iran to keep vigil for a dying relative. In the meanwhile the film follows his eff...

Ahmad Shamlou: Master Poet of Liberty
1999
as self
A documentary about the most important modern Iranian poet and intellectual icon. Iranian poet Ahmad Shamlou talks about his poetry, the world of poet...

The Birth of Light
1997
Director
One shot, taken using a time-lapse technique, of a sunrise in an Iranian mountain landscape. A thin band of light shines across a starry sky, the sun ...

Taste of Cherry
1997
Director, Producer, Writer
A middle-aged Tehranian man, Mr. Badii is intent on killing himself and seeks someone to bury him after his demise. Driving around the city, the seemi...
Sohanak
1997
as Self

Project
1997
as Self
A thirty-nine minute sketch film for TASTE OF CHERRY that Abbas Kiarostani made with his son Bahman Kiarostami.

Safar
1996
Writer
An exploration of the psychological effects of war on a middle-class Iranian family who flee Teheran following a night air raid.

First Graders
1996
Director, Writer, Editor
A documentary film about a boys school in Iran. The film shows numerous, funny and moving interviews of many different young pupils of this school sum...

Lumière & Company
1995
Director
40 international directors were asked to make a short film using the original Cinematographe invented by the Lumière Brothers, working under condition...

Orderly or Disorderly
1995
Director, Editor, Writer
A sense of order is the necessary basis of any good social organisation. To illustrate this axiom, Kiarostami presents a series of paired scenes in th...

Concerning Nice
1995
Writer, Director
Anthology of short films about the French city of Nice, by various directors. A homage to Jean Vigo and his "À propos de Nice" from 1930.

The White Balloon
1995
Writer
Several people try to take advantage of a little girl's innocence to hustle money her mom gave to her to buy a goldfish with.

Behind the Scenes of 'Under the Olive Trees'
1994
as Self
A documentary by Hamideh Sharif Rad about Abbas Kiarostami's "Through the Olive Trees" (1994).

Abbas Kiarostami: Truths and Dreams
1994
as Self
A documentary about Iranian film director Abbas Kiarostami first aired on the French television series Cinema de Notre Temps.

Through the Olive Trees
1994
as Self
When the actor in a scene for his film Life And Nothing More… has to quit, a film director casts another man for the part. However, complications aris...

Through the Olive Trees
1994
Writer, Director, Editor
When the actor in a scene for his film Life And Nothing More… has to quit, a film director casts another man for the part. However, complications aris...

Life, and Nothing More…
1992
Director, Writer, Editor
After the earthquake of Guilan, a film director and his son travel to the devastated area to search for the actors from the movie the director made th...

Close-Up
1990
as Self
This fiction-documentary hybrid uses a sensational real-life event—the arrest of a young man on charges that he fraudulently impersonated the well-kno...

Close-Up
1990
Writer, Director, Editor
This fiction-documentary hybrid uses a sensational real-life event—the arrest of a young man on charges that he fraudulently impersonated the well-kno...

Homework
1989
as Self (uncredited)
Young male students at a local Iranian school are asked about their feelings on homework.

Homework
1989
Director, Editor, Screenplay
Young male students at a local Iranian school are asked about their feelings on homework.

Where Is The Friend's House?
1987
Writer, Director, Editor
An 8-year-old boy must return his friend's notebook he took by mistake, lest his friend be punished by expulsion from school.

Fellow Citizen
1983
Editor, Writer, Director
On July 1983, lawmakers in Teheran decided to close off a section of the capital to regular traffic. Only drivers with special permits could cross the...

Toothache
1983
Director, Screenplay, Editor
"Equal parts narrative and instructional cautionary tale, Toothache emphasizes taking care of one's teeth" (MoMA).

The Chorus
1982
Director, Writer
An old man with a hearing aid tires of listening to the noises of the town. But when he takes his aid out he can't hear his grandchildren coming to se...

First Case, Second Case
1979
Editor, Writer, Director
First Case, Second Case is a documentary about a teacher who sends a group of pupils out of the classroom when one of them does not own up to talking ...

Solution No. 1
1978
Writer, Director
A man, unable to hitch a ride back to his broken-down car with a new tire, rolls it back to his car while running.

The Report
1977
Director, Screenplay
A tax collector is accused of taking bribes, and also has to deal with problems at home, including a suicide attempt by his wife.

Jahan-Nama Palace
1977
Director
This rarely screened early short made for The Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults documents the complete restaurat...

How to Make Use of Leisure Time: Painting
1977
Editor, Director, Screenplay
"A humorous slice of educational instruction on refurbishing and painting" (MoMA).

Tribute to the Teachers
1977
Writer, Producer, Editor
A documentary featuring interviews with teachers and officials on the profession of teaching.

The Colours
1976
Director, Editor, Writer
By showing a series of different-coloured objects, the film aims to familiarize very young children with the various colours, and ends with a shot of ...

A Wedding Suit
1976
Director, Editor, Screenplay
A woman orders a suit from a tailor for her young son to wear to her sister's wedding. The tailor's apprentice, together with two other teenage boys w...

Two Solutions to One Problem
1975
Director, Writer, Editor
During breaktime, Dara and Nader have a fierce argument about a torn exercise book that the former has given back to the latter. There are two possibl...

So Can I
1975
Producer, Director, Screenplay
Two children watching animals move in an animated film try to imitate their gestures — until they see real birds fly and a real airplane take off.

The Traveler
1974
Writer, Director
Hassan Darabi, a troublesome, amoral 10-year-old boy in a small Iranian town wishes to see the Iran national football team play an important match in ...

The Experience
1973
Director, Editor, Screenplay
The hard daily life of a kid working in a photo shop while trying to get closer to the girl he likes.

Recess
1972
Director, Writer
A boy on his way home from school kicks a ball out of a street where some children are playing. He's chased and forced to take a new way home.

The Bread and Alley
1970
Director
Returning from an errand to buy bread, a boy finds a menacing dog blocking his way through the alley he must go down to get home. Frightened by the do...

Gheisar
1969
Title Designer
A young man's drive to avenge for his sister and brother.

Taste Of Shirin : Making of Abbas Kiarostami's 'Shirin'
N/A
as Abbas Kiarostami