LEILA HATAMI

Professional Summary

Internationally acclaimed Iranian actress with over 30 years of leadership and commitment in film and television. Best known for her role in A Separation (2011), Iran's first Academy Award-winning film, she has helped shape global understanding of Iranian cinema. Driven by conviction, she has thoughtfully chosen roles that she hopes will promote the artistic, humanitarian and social causes that she believes in.

Hatami's performances have received recognition from major international festivals and organisations, including the Berlin International Film Festival, Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, International Film Festival Rotterdam and Montreal World Film Festival. A voting member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and a Chevalier of France's Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, she is recognized globally for her outstanding contributions to cinema and cross-cultural artistic exchange.

International Awards & Honors

• Golden Bicycle - Vesoul International Film Festival - 2022
• Academy Award - Best Foreign Language Film (A Separation) - Contribution as Lead Actress - 2012
• Golden Globe Award - Best Foreign Language Film (A Separation) - Contribution as Lead Actress - 2012
• Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres - France - 2012
• Best Actress - The 6th San Francisco Iranian Film Festival (Meeting Leila) - 2012
• Best Actress - Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (The Last Step) - 2012
• Best Actress (FIPRESCI) - Palm Springs International Film Festival (A Separation) - 2012
• Silver Bear for Best Actress - Berlin International Film Festival (A Separation) - 2011
• Best Actress - Zimbabwe International Film Festival (Every Night, Loneliness) - 2008
• Best Actress - Montreal World Film Festival (The Deserted Station) - 2002

National Awards - Iran

• Best Actress - Hafez Awards (Subdued) - 2018
• Best Actress - Fajr Film Festival (Subdued) - 2017
• Iran's Film Critics and Writers Association (Subdued) - 2017
• Iran's Film Critics and Writers Association (I) - 2016
• Best Actress - Fajr Film Festival (Penniless) - 2009
• Best Actress - Iran's Film Critics and Writers Association (Penniless) - 2009
• Best Actress - Iranian Cinema Celebration (Water and Fire) - 2001
• Best Actress - Iran's Film Critics and Writers Association (Water and Fire) - 2001
• Honorary Diploma - Fajr Film Festival (Leila) - 1997
• Best Actress - Hafez Awards (Leila) - 1997

Film Festival Juries

• Jury Member - Venice International Film Festival - 2022
• Jury President - Vesoul International Film Festival - 2022
• Jury Member - Cannes Film Festival - 2014
• Jury Member - Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival - 2013
• Jury President - Kustendorf Film Festival - 2012
• Jury Member - Rome International Film Festival - 2012
• Jury Member - Deauville American Film Festival - 2011
• Jury Member - Marrakech International Film Festival - 2011
• Jury Member - Eurasia Film Festival of Almaty - 2007
• Jury Member - Karlovy Vary International Film Festival - 2006
• Jury Member - Dubai International Short Film Festival - 2001

Filmography

• The Idol by Hamid Nematollah - 2025 - In Post-Production
• The Way of the Wind by Terrence Malick - 2025 - In Post-Production
• Once Upon A Time in Eternity by Mehdi Norowzian - 2025
• The Killer and the Savage by Hamid Nematollah - 2025
• The Old Bachelor by Oktay Baraheni - 2024 - Rotterdam International Film Festival, VPRO Big Screen Award
• Imagine by Ali Behrad - 2022 - Edinburgh Film Festival; International Critics' Week, Cannes Film Festival
• Absence by Ali Mosaffa - 2021
• We Are All Together by Kamal Tabrizi - 2019
• A Man Without a Shadow by Alireza Raisian - 2019
• The Way of the Wind by Terrence Malick - 2018 - In Post-Production
• The Last Fiction by Ashkan Rahgozar - 2018
• Tale of the Sea by Bahman Farmanara - 2018
• Pig by Mani Haghighi - 2018 - Berlin International Film Festival
• Bomb: A Love Story by Peyman Maadi - 2018
• Subdued by Hamid Nematollah - 2017
• I by Soheil Beiraghi - 2016
• Time to Love by Alireza Raisian - 2015
• What's the Time in Your World? by Safi Yazdanian - 2014
• The Sealed Secret by Hadi Moghadamdoust - 2013
• Meeting Leila by Adel Yaraghi - 2012
• Orange Suit by Dariush Mehrjui - 2012
• The Last Step by Ali Mosaffa - 2012 - Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, FIPRESCI Prize for Best Film
• A Separation by Asghar Farhadi - 2011 - Berlin International Film Festival; Academy Awards; Golden Globes
• Felicity Land by Maziar Miri - 2011
• Beloved Sky by Dariush Mehrjui - 2011
• There Are Things You Don't Know by Fardin Sahebzamani - 2010
• A Walk in the Fog by Bahram Tavakoli - 2010
• The Fourth Decade / Love at 40 by Alireza Raissian - 2010
• Penniless by Hamid Nematollah - 2009
• Shirin by Abbas Kiarostami - 2008
• Every Night, Loneliness by Rasoul Sadr Ameli - 2007
• Season Salad by Fereidoun Jeirani - 2005
• Verdict by Massoud Kimiai - 2005
• Poet of the Wastes by Mohammad Ahmadi - 2005
• Portrait of a Lady Far Away by Ali Mosaffa - 2005
• The Deserted Station by Alireza Raisian - 2002 - Global Montreal Film Festival / Montreal World Film Festival
• Low Heights by Ebrahim Hatamikia - 2002
• Sweet Jam by Marzieh Boroumand - 2001
• Water and Fire by Fereidoun Jeirani - 2001
• Mix by Dariush Mehrjui - 2000
• Sheida by Kamal Tabrizi - 1999
• Leila by Dariush Mehrjui - 1997
• Delshodegan / Love-Stricken by Ali Hatami - 1992
• Kamal-ol-Molk by Ali Hatami - 1984

Series

• Women's Secret Network by Afshin Hashemi - 2022
• Blue Whale by Fereydoun Jeyrani - 2019
• Paridokht by Saman Moghadam - 2007
• The English Briefcase by Ziaeddin Dorri - 2002
• Hezar Dastan by Ali Hatami - 1987

Artistic / Production Design

• Production Designer for The Killer and the Savage by Hamid Nematollah - 2025
• Artistic Director and Set and Costume Designer for The Last Step by Ali Mosaffa - 2012 - nominated for Crystal Simorgh Fajr Film Festival Award for Best Production Design and Costume Design
• Set and Costume Designer for The Deceit of Poesy (Farib-e-She'r) by Ali Mosaffa - 1998

Acting Workshops

• Workshop at Arta Art Gallery hosted by the Pheonix Cultural Center of Toronto, Canada - 2017
• Workshop at the Prague Film School - 2015
• Workshop at Kustendorf Film Festival - 2012

Translations to Persian - Farsi

• Persian translation of Gertrud de Carl Theodor Dreyer by Fabrice Revault d'Allones, published by Editions Yellow Now in 1988; published by Nashr-e Ney, Tehran - 2003
• Persian translation of Opening Night by John Cassavetes, translated from the French edition (L'avant-Scene Cinema, Paris, 1995); published by Nashr-e Ney, Tehran - 2002

Education

• Bachelor of Electrical Engineering - Swiss Federal Institute of Technology / EPFL - 1991, not completed
• High School Diploma - Tehran, Iran - 1991

Professional Affiliations

• Member - Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
• Member - House of Cinema (Khaneh-ye Cinema - Iran)

Languages

Persian: native; French: fluent; Italian: fluent; English: proficient; German: intermediate.