Mani Haghighi is an Iran

Iran

Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...

ian filmmaker, screen writer and actor. He is the grandson of the writer and filmmaker Ebrahim Golestan

Ebrahim Golestan

Ebrahim Golestan is an Iranian filmmaker and literary figure with a career spanning half a century...

.

Education

Haghighi was educated at Appleby College

Appleby College

Appleby College is an international independent school located in Oakville, Ontario, Canada, founded in 1911 by John Guest, a former Headmaster of the Preparatory School at Upper Canada College...

, Ontario, then received a B.A. in philosophy

Philosophy

Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...

, from McGill University

McGill University

Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...

, 1991, an M.A. in philosophy from the University of Guelph, 1997 and an M.A. in cultural studies from Trent University

Trent University

Trent University is a liberal arts and science-oriented institution located along the Otonabee River in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada.The enabling legislation is the Trent University Act, 1962-63. The University was founded through the efforts of a citizens' committee interested in creating a...

, 2000.

Career

His second feature film, Men at Work, is considered a notable contribution to the Iranian cinema as well as world cinema. Its enigmatic comedy is akin to something out of Monty Python

Monty Python

Monty Python was a British surreal comedy group who created their influential Monty Python's Flying Circus, a British television comedy sketch show that first aired on the BBC on 5 October 1969. Forty-five episodes were made over four series...

, and its most basic elements align it with Looney Tunes

Looney Tunes

Looney Tunes is a Warner Bros. animated cartoon series. It preceded the Merrie Melodies series and was Warner Bros.'s first animated theatrical series. Since its first official release, 1930's Sinkin' in the Bathtub, the series has become a worldwide media franchise, spawning several television...

, and yet despite its absurdity Men at Work feels completely real and reasonable. Interestingly, Men at Work began as an idea conceived by Abbas Kiarostami

Abbas Kiarostami

Abbas Kiarostami is an internationally acclaimed Iranian film director, screenwriter, photographer and film producer. An active filmmaker since 1970, Kiarostami has been involved in over forty films, including shorts and documentaries...

, the eminent Iranian filmmaker who has, through his work, all but defined his country's place in world cinema.

Filmography

• Abadan
  Abadan (film)
  Abadan is a 2003 drama film by Iranian filmmaker Mani Haghighi. It was his first feature film after making a few short films. Because the film was not pre-approved by Iran's Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance and because of including profanity and spoken references to extramarital...
  
  (2003)
• Men at Work (Kargaran Mashghoole karand, 2006)
• Hamoon Bazha
  Hamoon Bazha (film)
  Hamoon Bazha is a documentary film by Mani Haghighi. It is about a famous Iranian cult film named Hamoon directed by Dariush Mehrjui....
  
  (2007)
• Canaan (Can'an, 2007)