Iranian cinema flourished in the 1990s. In 1991 Rakshan Bani-Etemad became the first woman to receive the "Best Director" award at the in Iran. She won this award for her movie "Nargess." Later, in 1997, Abbas Kiarostami won the "Palme d'or" at the Cannes Film Festival for the film "Taste of Cherry". Also, a wider range of films were allowed to be released, because the rules for Iranian cinema become less strict. 