Leila Khatami is a successful Iranian actress and director. Despite the fact that the filmography of the actress has only 12 serious film works, she is considered one of the most popular artists in her homeland. Moreover, her fame has long gone beyond national boundaries, making her recognizable all over the world.
The popular Iranian actress Leila Khatami is a continuer of the famous dynastic tradition. She was fortunate enough to be born into the family of the famous director Ali Khatami (1944-1996) and the actress Zahra Khatami, in whom thematic values were instilled into the future world-class movie star from childhood.
Interestingly, in April 2014, Leila became a member of the jury of the main competition at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival, which in itself is a very significant event for national cinema.
Short biography of Leila Hatami
On October 1, 1972, in Tehran (Iran), the future successor of the dynasty was born into a famous creative family. From the very childhood, the girl showed remarkable artistic abilities, which were very welcomed by her parents. After receiving her high school diploma, Leila went to Lausanne (Switzerland) in order to obtain a prestigious European education.
The girl studied at the Swiss Institute of Technology for two years, specializing in mechanical engineering. However, in the course of her studies, Khatami realized that the qualification "electrical engineer" was not suitable for her, and she transferred to the faculty of French language and literature at the same university. After graduating from the institute, Leila decided to return to Iran, where she began to realize herself as an actress.
Creative career of an actress
Leila Khatami made her film debut back in 1984, when she starred in episodic roles in her father's films. And the first significant achievement in the professional field of an aspiring film actress was her main role in the film “Leila” (1997) directed by Daryush Mehrjui. For this film work, she received the prestigious international award of the Fajr International Film Festival in the nomination "Best Actress".
A landmark film for the aspiring Iranian actress, the film tells the story of the life of a young married couple who, some time after the wedding, learns about the infertility of his wife Leila. Since national traditions in this matter protect ancestral heredity, the mother of Reza's husband insists that he bring a second wife into the house. The storyline of the picture is based on the psychological experiences of the newlyweds. After all, Reza and Leila love and are afraid to offend each other. On the other hand, the lifestyle of the country of residence unambiguously interprets this situation in favor of unconditional procreation. It is the clash of human experiences and public opinion that underlies the narrative of this film, which was very positively received by the national and even international cinematographic community.
And the Iranian actress gained world fame thanks to the film "The Divorce of Nader and Simin" (Jodaeiye Nader az Simin), directed by Asghar Farhadi, which was released in 2011. This film work was highly appreciated by experts at the International Film Festival in Berlin, where she received the Silver Bear in the Best Actress nomination. In addition, the Asian Film Academy in the same category awarded the actress with its award.
The following year turned out to be a triumphant one for Leila Khatami, when she played the main role in her husband's film "The Last Step". It was this successful film project that made her an internationally famous actress.
Among the well-deserved awards and prizes of Leyla Khatami, the following achievements should be highlighted:
- 2012 - for the role in the film directed by Ali Mosaff "The Last Step" was awarded the prize of the IFF in Karlovy Vary in the nomination "Best Actress";
- 2014 - entered the jury of the main competition of the IFF in Cannes.
Currently, the filmography of the Iranian actress is filled with a sufficient number of film projects, among which the following should be especially highlighted:
- "What time is it in your world?" (2014);
- "The Last Step" (2012);
- "Divorce of Nader and Simin" (2011);
- "Fortieth Anniversary" (2010);
- “There are things you don’t know” (2010);
- "Shirin" (2008);
- "Poet of Garbage" (2005);
- "Portrait of a Lady from Afar" (2005);
- "Once upon a time …" (2003);
- "Abandoned Station" (2002);
- "Low Heights" (2002);
- "Leila" (1997).
The last film project with the participation of Leila Khatami was the film "Pigs" (2018). The plot of this picture is based on the events taking place in the capital of Iran (Tehran). The main character of the film is the disgraced director Khasan, who is very painfully experiencing the alienated attitude of the entire cinematic community towards his person. The once successful and popular specialist is surprised at complete alienation, because even a maniac operating in the city, killing famous cinema figures with special composure and intelligibility, bypasses Hassan with his attention.
However, even this turn of events, seemingly having a positive aspect in its reverse side, soon also becomes the reason that the main character falls into the category of suspects by the police.
Personal life
Despite the fact that Leila Khatami does not like to be frank with journalists about her family life, it is known that she is connected with the only man in her life. On October 1, 1999, the famous actor and director Ali Mosaffa, who is six years older than his wife, became the spouse of the popular Iranian actress.
The couple had a son, Mani Mosaffa, in February 2007, and a daughter, Asal Mosaffa, in October 2008.
