Ana Lily Amirpour

Born in Margate, United Kingdom, on July 25, 1976, Ana Lily Amirpour is an Iranian-American filmmaker known for her unique approach to genre filmmaking. She grew up in Miami and later in Bakersfield, California, where she attended high school. She began studying biology at UC Santa Barbara but dropped out after a year. She later resumed her studies in painting and sculpture at San Francisco State University and studied screenwriting at the UCLA School of Theater, Film, and Television.

She made a name for herself with her feature film debut, A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (2014), a vampire film with western overtones rooted in her Iranian cultural heritage. The film was critically acclaimed and went on to win several awards, including the Citizen Kane Award for Best Debut Film at the Sitges Film Festival. Her third feature film, Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon, was the opening film at Sitges2021.