Iranian authorities say the 83-year-old and Vahideh Mohammadifar were found with stab injuries in their home near Tehran on Saturday evening.

Iranian new wave cinema was founded by Mehrjui.

Local media reports indicate that four people are connected to the deaths.

Mehrjui invited his daughter to dinner at his home in Karaj on Saturday night, according to chief justice Hossein Fazeli.

Her parents’ bodies were found when she arrived.

Mohammadifar, a screenwriter and costume designer, complained recently that her house had been burglarized and she had been threatened.

Houman Seyedi, an Iranian actor and director, described the killings as “terrible and brutal” on social media.

His 1969 film The Cow, which recounts the story of a villager’s obsession with the titular animal, first rose to national and international prominence. Mehrjui studied in the US as a young man and later lived in France for five years.

He has also made Hamoun, The Pear Tree, and Leila, a film about an infertile woman who encourages her husband to remarry.

Mehrjui drew inspiration from literature, in contrast to the new wave movement’s emphasis on realism.

In spite of his many awards over the years, some of his films barely saw the light of day in Iran due to censorship.