The French-Iranian artist Marjane Satrapi, who became world famous for her graphic novel “Persepolis” and the film of the same name, has been awarded the prestigious Princess of Asturias Prize for Communication and Human Sciences in Spain.
The jury praised the 54-year-old in a statement on Tuesday for her “essential role” in “defending human rights and freedom.”
Satrapi is a “symbolic figure for women’s civic engagement” and is considered “one of the most influential people in the dialogue between cultures and generations thanks to her boldness and her artistic work,” it continues.
© Berlin State Museums, Art Library/Dietmar Katz
Satrapi, who was born in Iran, tells of her own life story in “Persepolis”. In it, she deals with, among other things, her youth in Iran, the Islamic revolution in 1979 and the subsequent repression, the restrictions on women’s rights and the Iran-Iraq war.
Satrapi was sent to a school in Vienna at the age of 14 by her parents to protect her from arrest for her resistance to the country’s leadership. She later returned to Tehran, but ultimately went to France in 1994, where she began her career as an author, director and painter.
For her film adaptation of “Persepolis,” Satrapi was awarded the Jury Prize at the Cannes Festival in 2007 and was nominated for an Oscar in 2008.
Satrapi’s most recently published anthology “Woman, Life, Freedom” was published in German and contains the works of more than 20 comic artists from Iran, Europe and the USA. With their contributions, they comment on the current situation since the violent death of student Mahsa Amini in the custody of the Iranian moral police in autumn 2022.
The Princess of Asturias Prize for Communication and Human Sciences, worth 50,000 euros, is one of a total of eight prizes awarded by the foundation named after the Spanish Crown Princess Leonor. The awards honor personalities from art, science and other areas.