Derakhshandeh is an Iranian director, screenwriter and producer, who focuses on making films for children, as well as some that deal with social issues. In 1975, she graduated with a degree in film direction from the University of Teheran. From the mid-1970’s until the early 1980’s, she made many documentaries with different topics: the plague in Kurdistan (Plague, 1975), traditional ceremonies (The Last Wednesday of the Year, 1977), female occupations and crafts (Waves, Prayer Signet and Rug, 1978), textile research (Natural and Artificial Fiber, 1978), and she followed the consequences of the Iranian economic recession and the closure of factories (The Wheels Rotate, 1979-1980). In the early 1990’s, she made a documentary series about drug problems among men, women and children (Showkarn, 1990-1992). She made her feature film debut with Relationship (Rabete, 1986), a drama about a mute boy. Following that, she became the leading Iranian female director. Her next film, Little Bird of Happiness (Parandeyeh koochake khoshbakhti, 1987), won five awards at the Fajr Film Festival and deals with the problems of a child who is tormented by misunderstanding from those surrounding her. Afterwards, she made the dramas Passing Through the Dust (1988) and Lost Time (1989) in which she worked with grown up actors. Between 1991 and 1993, she taught visual communication at the Azad University and then returned to film with the American produced Bitterland (1997). She made the drama A Love Without Frontiers (Eshgh bedoone marz, 1998) in Iran, but starring foreign actors. She dealt with the problem of drugs and AIDS in Candle in the wind (Sham'i dar baad, 2004), and Down’s syndrome in The Children of Eternity (Bachehaye Abadi, 2006). She chose some lighter topics in The Wet Dream (Roya-ye khis, 2005) and Endless dreams (Khabhaye donbalehdar, 2010) with which she returned to films for children.