Mani Haghighi

Mani Haghighi, born in Tehran in 1969, is an esteemed Iranian filmmaker and screenwriter. He pursued his studies in philosophy at McGill University in Montreal before returning to Iran to embark on his cinematic journey. Haghighi made his directorial debut with the feature film *Abadan* in 2003, which was showcased at the prestigious Tribeca Film Festival.

His collaborative screenplay for Asghar Farhadi's *Fireworks Wednesday* in 2006, co-written with Farhadi, garnered the Special Jury Prize at the Three Continents Festival in Nantes. Haghighi's second feature, *Men at Work*, premiered at the Berlinale Forum in 2006 and won accolades including the Best Screenplay Award at the 2007 Asian Film Awards in Hong Kong and a similar recognition at the Fajr Film Festival in Tehran.

In 2008, he released *Canaan*, inspired by a short story by Alice Munro, followed by two documentaries exploring the legacy of renowned Iranian director Dariush Mehrjui: *Hamoon’s Fans* in 2007 and *Dariush Mehrjui: The Forty Year Report* in 2012. His fourth feature, *Modest Reception*, was featured in the Berlinale Forum in 2012 and earned multiple awards, including the NETPAC Award at the Berlin Film Festival and accolades for acting at the OSIAN’s Cinefan Festival in New Delhi.

In addition to directing, Haghighi has acted in notable films such as Farhadi's *About Elly* (2009) and Nima Javidi’s *Melbourne* (2014), showcasing his versatility within the film industry.