Mohsen Makhmalbaf

For years, Mohsen Makhmalbaf has made controversial films both within and outside Iran protesting against social oppression. He was forced to leave Iran in 2004 due to the extreme pressure of censorship and has since been the spokesperson for the Green Movement, a peaceful social movement protesting the outcomes of the 2009 Iranian election.

Mohsen has transformed his life through art and in doing so, has become a beacon for the thousands of musicians, filmmakers, actors and writers in Iran who are pushing for social justice and human rights.

Mohsen's rise to become the leader of the new wave of Iranian cinema came from unlikely beginnings. As a teen, Mohsen modeled himself on Che Guevara. He formed an underground militia group only to be shot, arrested and jailed for a scuffle with a policeman. In prison, he underwent an intellectual renaissance after which he distanced himself from violence in favour of literature and the arts especially cinema. Upon his release following the 1979 revolution, Mohsen left prison believing that Iran suffered from cultural poverty.

Embarking on a cinematic career, Mohsen wrote and directed 18 feature films and six short films, as well as writing screenplays and editing films for various other Iranian filmmakers. One film, Kandahar, was named one of the top 100 movies of all time by Time magazine.

In his acceptance speech at awards ceremony, Mohsen dedicated his award to Iran's Green Movement and its spiritual leader, Grand Ayatollah Hossein-Ali Montazeri. Montazeri is simultaneously one of Iran's highest ranking theologians and one of the establishment's most outspoken critics. In 1997 he was placed under house arrest in the holy city of Qom for questioning the unaccountable rule exercised by the supreme leader. On his release in January 2003 he vowed, despite ill health, to continue to speak his mind.

Mohsen has long championed the bravery of Montazeri. For almost three decades, Montazeri has been one of the main critics of Islamic Republic's domestic and foreign policy. He has also been an active advocate of civil rights and women's rights in Iran. On 3 November 2009, a day before the 30th anniversary of the Iranian hostage crisis, Montazeri wrote to US President Barak Obama to say that the occupation of the American embassy in 1979 had been a mistake.

Commenting on his award, Makhmalbaf said, "People of my country (Iran) are killed, imprisoned, tortured and raped just for their votes. Each award I receive gives me an opportunity to echo their voices across the world, asking for democracy for Iran and peace for the world. I would like to dedicate this very important prize to Mr Montazeri, one of the bravest voices in Iran. It is vital that we continue to talk about the quest for freedom and democracy for the Iranian people."

Makhmalbaf will donate his Prize fund to the Green Movement NGO to help the victims of the incidents after the election in Iran.

Freedom to Create is incredibly grateful for the support, partnership, guidance and encouragement that we have received from our amazing supporters, artists, participants, judges and other organisations since we began in 2006. We have made the difficult decision to suspend Freedom to Create's Prize and Exhibitions from 31 December 2011 for a period of strategic evaluation. Thank you for your support and wishing you courage and creativity in all that you do.

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