Karimi, Niki (born November 10, 1971, Tehran)

Niki Karimi's interest in films and literature inspired her to become an actress at a very young age.

"As a child, I used to imagine myself as the character of the books I was reading ... It all began that way," Karimi once was quoted as saying.

She started acting with theater groups in elementary school when Jamshid Gorgin (the actor) discovered her talent as an actress in a school play.

Her first appearance in cinema was 'Temptation' (1989), but her next performances like 'The Bride' (1990) and 'Sara' (1991) earned her national acclaim and fame. For them she won awards at the San Sebastián Film Festival and Nantes Film Festival.

She continued her cinematic career starring in movies made by well-known Iranian filmmakers and has won many awards nationally and internationally ever since.

According to Karimi herself, acting did not satisfy her, so she began making films herself and won her first award as a director for her documentary called 'To Have or not to Have' (2001) at Iran's Rain Film Festival.

In 2004, she made her first feature film 'One Night' (2004) which was shown in numerous international film festivals such as the Cannes Film Festival (2006) in the Un Certain Regards Section.

Her second feature film 'A Few Days Later' (2006) premiered at Rome Film Festival and the third one, 'Final Whistle' (2010), won three awards at the Vesoul International Film Festival of Asian Cinema in France.

The celebrated Iranian actress has served, as a juror, at several renowned film festivals, including the Berlin Film Festival and the 60th Cannes Film Festival.

Karimi is also an acting coach and a translator. Her first published work was 'Songs My Mother Taught Me', the biography of Marlon Brando.

She has acted in series such as 'Life' (1995), 'Ancient Land' (2013), 'Kimya' (2015) and plenty of movies including 'Scent of Joseph' (1995), 'Minoo Tower' (1995), 'Psycho' (1997), 'Two Women' (1998), 'The Burnt Generation' (1999), 'Thousands of Women Like Me' (2000), 'The Fifth Reaction' (2001), 'Who Killed Amir?' (2005), 'Three Women' (2006), 'Women Are Angels' (2007), 'The Second Woman' (2007), 'Hot Chocolate' (2009), 'I'm Her Spouse' (2011), 'The President's Cell Phone' (2011), 'Tidings to Citizen of the Third Millennium' (2012), and 'Death of Fish' (2014).

Awards won as Actress:

Filmcritica Bastone Bianco Award - Special Mention, Torino International Festival of Young Cinema, ‘One Night’, 2005

The Crystal Simorgh, Fajr International Film Festival, ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest’, 2003

The Crystal Simorgh, Fajr International Film Festival, ‘The Fifth Reaction’, 2002

ISIS Prize for Best Actress, Cairo International Film Festival, ‘The Hidden Half’, 2001

The Best Actress Award, Taormina International Film Festival, ‘Two Women’, 1999

The Award for Best Actress of the Year, The Society of Film Critics & Writers, ‘Two Women’, 1999

The Best Actress Award, Nantes Film Festival, ‘Sara’, 1995

The Silver Seashell, San Sebastián International Film Festival, ‘Sara’, 1993

Awards grabbed as Director:

The Best Film Award, Mannheim-Heidelberg International Film Festival, ‘Final Whistle’, 2012

Emile Guimet Award, Vesoul International Film Festival of Asian Cinema, ‘Final Whistle’, 2012

INALCO Jury Award, Vesoul International Film Festival of Asian Cinema, ‘Final Whistle’, 2012

High Schools Award, Vesoul International Film Festival of Asian Cinema, ‘Final Whistle’, 2012