Marjane Satrapi is an iconic Iranian graphic novelist, cartoonist, illustrator, children’s book author and film director, nominated for an Academy Award for “Persepolis” (2007). This nomination put Marjane Satrapi on the map since she became the first woman to be nominated for this Academy Award.

Born on November 22nd, 1969 in Rasht, Iran, and coming from an upper-class family in Iran, Marjane was exposed to different cultures and different ideologies early on in her life.

As a child of the Iranian Revolution of the late 1970s and the constant conflicts of the region, it was no surprise when “Persepolis” (2007), her autobiographical novel and her most regarded work (later adapted to film), came to life. The graphic novel was originally published in French but can be found translated in many other languages such as English, Spanish, Catalan, Portuguese, Italian, Greek, Swedish, Georgian, and others, having sold 1,500,000 copies worldwide.

Although the original graphic novel was highly controversial for its explicit scenes and graphic violent content, in the 2007 homonymous film “Persepolis” won the Jury Prize in Cannes and was nominated for Best Animated Feature Film of the Year in the 2008 Academy Awards.  

The film, staying true to the style of the original graphic novels, is presented in black-and-white, with present-day scenes shown in color and some selections of the historic narrative remember a shadow theatre show. The film is very focused on deep details of determined rites of passage, and the ambiance that characterizes a coming of age.

Written and directed by Satrapi with Vicent Paronnaud co-directing, the film depicts Marji’s (the characters name) childhood up to her early adult years in Iran during and after the Islamic Revolution.

Her collaboration with Paronnaud continued and resulted in their second film, “Chicken with Plums”, being released in 2011. In 2014, Satrapi directed the comedy-horror film “The Voices”, from a screenplay by Michael R. Perry.

She lives in Paris with her husband Mattias Ripa and is currently directing a biopic of Marie Curie, titled “Radioactive” scheduled to be released in 2020.