Five years ago, while I had been the most prolific Iranian filmmaker, with 14 feature films, 3 shorts, 28 books,

Five years ago, while I had been the most prolific Iranian filmmaker, with 14 feature films, 3 shorts, 28 books,

and 22 editing credits over a 14-year career, I stopped making films and decided to make filmmakers. I started the

Makhmalbaf Film House with only eight students selected among family and friends. After four years, the school

graduated a cameraperson, a sound recordist, an art director, three directors, and an editor/photographer. During

the course of their studies, my students also produced several films as their school projects, including The Day

I Became a Woman by Marziyeh, my wife, and The Apple and Blackboards by Samira, my daughter.