Director Majid Majidi arrives in India

Three time Montreal film festival winner Majid Majidi, is in India to examine locations for his new film in English language.

The film, currently titled ‘Floating Garden’, will be shot in several locations in Mumbai, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Kashmir as India’s Trans Asia News Service website reported on January 20. It is said that Bollywood star Deepika Padukone is up for the new project with Majidi.

Majidi has been to India several times to find locations for a project he always wished to work on after visiting Kashmir almost a decade ago.

Born in 1959, internationally appreciated film producer, director and screenwriter, Majidi studies at the Institute of Dramatic Arts in Tehran and began his career as an actor. He starred in some movies such as ‘Justification’ (1981), ‘Two Sightless Eyes’ (1983) and ‘Boycott’ (1985).

 Majidi quit acting in 1989 and ventured on directing a few short films. His first ‘Badook’ (1991) won him a Crystal Simorgh at the Fajr International Film Festival. In 1999, ‘Children of Heaven’ (1997) was the first Iranian film nominated for the Academy Awards. It was followed by ‘The Color of Heaven’ (1999) and ‘Baran’ (2000).

Majidi made a documentary on Afghan refugees titled ‘Barefoot to Herat.’ Not long after that, his feature films ‘The Willow Tree’ (2004) and ‘The Song of Sparrows’ (2007) earned him great respect as a director and solidified his reputation.

In 2008, he was one of the five international film directors invited by the Chinese government to make a documentary on Beijing in preparation for the Summer Olympics.

Of Majidi’s international awards, Grand Prix des Amériques and Prize of the Ecumenical Jury - Special Mention from Montréal World Film Festival, The Best Director Award and the Best Screenplay Award from Gijón International Film Festival, Films from the South Award from Oslo Films Festival, and Douglas Sirk Award from Hamburg Film Festival for ‘Baran’ are the most notable ones.

He also directed ‘Muhammad (PBUH), The Messenger of God’ in 2015.

MG/RSH