Mitra Farahani (Tehran, 1975) is an internationally acclaimed Iranian filmmaker and painter who currently lives in Paris. Farahani has a degree in graphic art at the Azad University in Tehran, after in which she moved to Paris. She was arrested on June 17, 2009 by the Iranian government, on her arrival in Tehran from Paris and held in Evin Prison. It is said that her arrest is linked to the crackdown of opposition by the Iranian regime following the presidential election and also making the regime angry by making some non-Islamic films outside Iran. The Iranian government released her from prison on 30 June 2009.[3