Merila Zarei | مریلا زارعی

Description :

Marila Zarei (born April 14, 1974) is an Iranian actress. She has won three awards from the Fajr Film Festival for her roles in the films "Friday Soldiers" (2003), "Track 143" (2014), and "Under the Smokey Roof" (2016). Additionally, Zarei received a Hafez Award for her performance in the TV series "Mannequin" (2019).

Biography: Marila Zarei was born in Tehran. She graduated in Food Industry from Azad University. Zarei made her cinematic debut with the film "Hello Cinema" directed by Mohsen Makhmalbaf in 1994. One of her significant early roles was in the film "Two Women," which became a turning point in her career. She has collaborated with directors such as Tahmineh Milani, Ebrahim Hatamikia, Asghar Farhadi, Masoud Kimiai, and Ahmad Moradpour.

Some of her notable performances include roles in "Friday Soldiers" directed by Masoud Kimiai and "Track 143" directed by Narges Abyar, for which she received Crystal Simorgh Awards for Best Actress.

Controversies: Marila Zarei participated in the Quds Day rally in 2014. Additionally, she was involved in a Facebook campaign initiated by Asghar Farhadi and Nasrin Sotoudeh regarding the Gaza crisis. The campaign aimed to raise awareness by taking photos with a sign reading "Stop Killing Your Fellow Human Beings" and posting them on Facebook. Although many celebrities, including international figures, joined the campaign, Zarei criticized its ambiguous nature and lack of clarity. She expressed concern about Asghar Farhadi's approach to the Gaza events and his potential negative impact on their participation in international film festivals.

Support for the Islamic Republic of Iran: During the public screening of the film "Henas," Marila Zarei expressed her belief that such situations create a responsibility for them to keep their eyes open to events, to be fair, and not to hold individuals accountable for the overall system and those who sacrificed themselves if a responsible person in the country makes a mistake in his management.