Jafar Panahi is an Iranian film director, screenwriter, and film editor, commonly identified with the Iranian New Wave film movement. After several years of making short films and working as an assistant director for fellow Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami, Panahi achieved international recognition with his feature film debut, The White Balloon . The film won the Camra dOr at the 1995 Cannes Film Festival, the first major award won by an Iranian film at Cannes.
Panahi was born in Mianeh, Iran. He has described his family as working class and grew up with four sisters and two brothers. His father worked as a house painter. His family spoke Azeri at home, but Persian with other Iranians. When he was ten years old he wrote his first book about a young boy who successfully cheats at his school exams, but feels guilty and eventually admits his crime. It won first prize in a library competition.
Source: Wikipedia