Mani Haghighi, born in 1969 in Tehran, embarked on a journey in the world of cinema after studying philosophy at McGill University in Montreal. He then returned to his homeland to pursue his passion for filmmaking. His inaugural feature film, Abadan, premiered at the prestigious Tribeca Film Festival.
Haghighi's screenplay for Asghar Farhadi's critically acclaimed film, Fireworks Wednesday, co-written with the director, garnered the Special Jury Prize at the Three Continents Festival in Nantes. His sophomore feature film, Men at Work, showcased at the Berlinale Forum in 2006, and went on to win the Best Screenplay Prize at the 2007 Asian Film Awards in Hong Kong, as well as the Best Screenplay Prize in the international section of the Fajr Film Festival in Tehran.
Canaan, Haghighi's next feature film, was inspired by a short story by the renowned author Alice Munro. He then ventured into the realm of documentary filmmaking, creating two films that explored the works of the acclaimed Iranian director, Dariush Mehrjui. Hamoon's Fans, released in 2007, delved into the lives of six Iranians who are devoted fans of Mehrjui's 1989 film, "Hamoon". Dariush Mehrjui: The Forty Year Report, a feature-length documentary, was released in 2012 and provided an in-depth look at Mehrjui's life and works.
Haghighi's fourth feature film, Modest Reception, premiered at the Berlinale Forum in 2012 and received widespread acclaim, earning the NETPAC Award at the Berlin Film Festival, the Free Spirit Award at the Warsaw Film Festival, and several other international prizes. The film also won the Best Actor and Best Actress prizes at the OSIAN's Cinefan Festival in New Delhi.
In addition to his work behind the camera, Haghighi has also appeared in several films, including Asghar Farhadi's About Elly, which competed at the Berlinale in 2009, Nima Javidi's Melbourne, released in 2014, and his own film, Modest Reception.
