Jafar Najafi

Jafar Najafi (Persian/Farsi: جعفر نجفی) is an Iranian filmmaker born in 1987 in Kouhrang, Iran.
His poetic documentary films focus on child marriage and women’s rights. Coming from a small village where he witnessed the burden of tradition on his own family members, he uses his storytelling to expose awkward truths that still persist. One of twelve children from a mother who was married at the tender age of eleven, he casts his gentle gaze on the still common practice of child marriage that continues to rob young girls and boys of their innocence and their unrecognized right to self-determination.
He is able to capture these intimate real life images because he is filming his own people who accept him and his camera with ambivalence.
==Filmography==
===ASHO (2019, 30 min / Color / Iran)===
Asho is the story of a shepherd boy whose first love is acting. Between herding sheep and teasing his cousin, Pari, to whom he was betrothed at her birth, he is a serious movie buff. On his cracked tablet, he has watched countless films and has an opinion on who deserves an Oscar and who doesn’t. He aspires to be Jonny Depp and is in love with Emma Stone, but is still possessive of his future bride Pari and doesn’t want her to be caught on camera. Until he makes it to Hollywood, the stunning landscape, his bewildered family and his sheep, named after famous people, are the audience for his big ambitions. (2019; 30 minutes)
===Makeup Artist (2021, 76 min / Color / Iran)===
A young woman from a small village marries a wealthy shepherd who is enchanted by her colorful appearance. She is an aspiring make-up artist and plans to go to university to study. He had promised to support her career but once they have a child, he changes his mind. He threatens to marry another woman to care for their child if she leaves to study. She decides to choose her husband's second wife who will also be her son's stepmother. (2021; 76 minutes)
===ALONE (2022, 61 min / color / iran)===
After the death of his father, 14 year old Amir finds himself at the head of his family in a small mountain village. Despite his tender age, local tradition recognizes him as the decision-maker for his mother and his 11 year old twin sisters. After his older sister dies, her husband wants to marry one of the twins. Exerting his power, young Amir struggles to protect them from an outdated tradition that robs girls of their childhood. (2022; 61 minutes)
==Awards, Nominations & Festival Screened==
===Awards, Nominations & Festival Screened=== 	
===Awards, Nominations & Festival Screened=== 	
===Asho===
2019 30min
Documentary 	Amiens International Film Festival 2020 	
===Asho===
2019 30min
Documentary 	Winner 	
===Asho===
2019 30min
Documentary 	Nominee 
Best Short Documentary 	
===Asho===
2019 30min
Documentary 	Cinema Vérité Iran International Documentary Film Festival 2019 	
===Asho===
2019 30min
Documentary 	Winner 
Best Documentary Short 
International Competition 	
===Asho===
2019 30min
Documentary 	EBS International Documentary Festival 2020 	
===Asho===
2019 30min
Documentary 	Nominee 
Grand Prix 
Asian Shorts 	
===Asho===
2019 30min
Documentary 	Fribourg International Film Festival 2020 	
===Asho===
2019 30min
Documentary 	Winner 
International Short Film Competition 	
===Asho===
2019 30min
Documentary 	IDFA 2019 	
===Asho===
2019 30min
Documentary 	Winner 
IDFA Competition for Kids & Docs 
Best documentary 	
===Asho===
2019 30min
Documentary 	Leipzig DOK Festival 2019 	
===Asho===
2019 30min
Documentary 	Winner 	
===Asho===
2019 30min
Documentary 	Lessinia Film Festival 2020 	
===Asho===
2019 30min
Documentary 	Winner 
Best Film 	
===Asho===
2019 30min
Documentary 	London Film Festival 2020 	
===Asho===
2019 30min
Documentary 	Nominee 
Best Short Film 	
===Asho===
2019 30min
Documentary 	Olympia International Film Festival for Children and Young People 2020	
===Asho===
2019 30min
Documentary 	Winner 
Awards of Kids and Docs 
Best Documentary Short Film 	
===Asho===
2019 30min
Documentary 	É Tudo Verdade 2020 	
===Asho===
2019 30min
Documentary 	Nominee 
Best Film 
Best Short Film 	
===Asho===
2019 30min
Documentary 	Makeup Artisthttps://www.imdb.com/title/tt15676312/awards/?ref_=tt_awd
2021 1h 16m
Documentary	Amsterdam International Documentary Film Festival 2021
Winner
FIPRESCI Prize 
IDFA Competition for First Appearance 	Makeup Artisthttps://www.imdb.com/title/tt15676312/awards/?ref_=tt_awd
2021 1h 16m
Documentary	
Cinema Vérité Iran International Documentary Film Festival 2021	Makeup Artisthttps://www.imdb.com/title/tt15676312/awards/?ref_=tt_awd
2021 1h 16m
Documentary	
Winner
Festival Prize
Best Feature Film 	Makeup Artisthttps://www.imdb.com/title/tt15676312/awards/?ref_=tt_awd
2021 1h 16m
Documentary	
EBS International Documentary Festival 2022 	Makeup Artisthttps://www.imdb.com/title/tt15676312/awards/?ref_=tt_awd
2021 1h 16m
Documentary	
Winner 
Audience Award 
International Competition 	Makeup Artisthttps://www.imdb.com/title/tt15676312/awards/?ref_=tt_awd
2021 1h 16m
Documentary	
IDFA 2021 	Makeup Artisthttps://www.imdb.com/title/tt15676312/awards/?ref_=tt_awd
2021 1h 16m
Documentary	
Nominee 
IDFA Competition for First Appearance 
Best Film 	Makeup Artisthttps://www.imdb.com/title/tt15676312/awards/?ref_=tt_awd
2021 1h 16m
Documentary	
MDOC - Melgaço International Documentary Film Festival 2022 	Makeup Artisthttps://www.imdb.com/title/tt15676312/awards/?ref_=tt_awd
2021 1h 16m
Documentary	
Nominee 
Jean Loup Passek Award 
Best Internaional Feature Length Film	Makeup Artisthttps://www.imdb.com/title/tt15676312/awards/?ref_=tt_awd
2021 1h 16m
Documentary	
Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival 2021 	Makeup Artisthttps://www.imdb.com/title/tt15676312/awards/?ref_=tt_awd
2021 1h 16m
Documentary	
Winner
Award of Excellence
Nominee
Ogawa Shinsuke Prize 	Makeup Artisthttps://www.imdb.com/title/tt15676312/awards/?ref_=tt_awd
2021 1h 16m
Documentary	
Alone
2022 1h 1m
Documentary 	Black Movie Film Festival 2023 	
Alone
2022 1h 1m
Documentary 	Nominee 
Young Adults Jury Award 
Best Film 	
Alone
2022 1h 1m
Documentary 	Munich International Documentary Festival (DOK.fest) 2023 	
Alone
2022 1h 1m
Documentary 	Nominee 
SOS-Kinderdörfer Award 
Best Film 	
Alone
2022 1h 1m
Documentary 	LA BIENNALE DI VENEZIA 	
Alone
2022 1h 1m
Documentary 	Screened 	
Category:1987 births
Category:Iranian people
Category:Filmmakers