Mehrjui, who studied in the US as a young man and later lived in France for five years, first rose to national and international prominence with his 1969 film The Cow, which tells the story about a villager's obsession with the titular animal. His other most notable films include Hamoun, The Pear Tree and Leila - the latter about an infertile woman who encourages her husband to marry for a second time. The new wave movement focused mainly on realism but Mehrjui was known to draw inspiration from literature. He received many awards over the years but while his films were celebrated at international film festivals, some barely saw the light of day in Iran due to censorship.
