iranians out of iran

Daryush Shokof is an artist and film-maker who left Iran in the 1970s for the U.S. and under the name of AliReza Shokoufandeh. He studied mathematics and physics at E.N.M.U. and then went on to get a masters degree in management from U.D. in Texas. He became a full-time artist in Germany where he moved to from New York in early 1980s. He coined the term maximalism in the arts in 1990 in Cologne Germany, and together with many of the artists of the time they made many exhibitions under the maximalists at Gallery Schulze in Cologne in 1990, both in Europe and in the U.S. He first made a name for himself as a script-writer by copying works from two great directors of the time Federico Fellini, and Pier Paolo Pasolini, changing the names of the characters and some situations and presented them to his father as his own works, which made his father believe he was a genius. He was soon the talk of a bigger circle of friends and family and had to write at a level to match his great idols from the age of eleven years. None of his writings ever showed any promise until finally and at age 42 he wrote a story which attracted the attention of two of the legendary names of cinema. Marlon Brando and Anthony Quinn both wanted to have the lead in Seven Servants. Quinn played the role along with David Warner, who played the role offered to Norman Mailer (who was so in admiration of the story that refused to play the role saying his acting was not up to the task). In the next 10 years he did more than 12 feature films and 10 short films with great originality both in writing and directing. He has made his movies through the help of private friends and contribution and cooperation from a great many professionals who believed and supported in his abilities as a film-maker. He has never had any of his movies released to the public and has never received any funding for any of his films from any official film industry companies, or from any country. He continues making films under amazing conditions, which in itself is truly a story to make a film about.

Golshifteh started her acting career in theater at the age of 6 and has always kept a strong link with theater, but it was at the age of 14 that she acted in her first film The Pear Tree (1998), for which she won the prize for the Best Actress from the international section of the Fajr film festival, immediately making her one of the stars of Iranian cinema. Since then she has played in more than 15 films, many of which have been screened or awarded at international festivals. Amongst her latest films are Bahman Ghobadi's Half Moon (2006) (winner of the Golden Seashell at the San Sebastián film festival 2006), Dariush Mehrjui's controversial The Music Man (2007), still banned in Iran, and the late Rasool Mollagholi Poor's M like Mother (2006), which after a huge success in Iran was chosen to represent Iran for the Best Foreign Film at the Academy Awards in 2008. After playing in Body of Lies (2008) by Ridley Scott, Golshifteh became the first Iranian star to act in a major Hollywood production. Subsequently she was banned from her country. Her last film in Iran About Elly (2009) won a Silver Bear in Berlin and the Best Narrative Feature at Tribeca (2009). Golshifteh graduated from music school, she sings and plays the piano amongst other instruments. She is also fluent in French and English and lives in Paris now.

Bob Yari was born on 30 May 1961 in Iran. He is a producer and director, known for Crash (2004), Papa Hemingway in Cuba (2015) and Agent Cody Banks (2003).

Farhad Safinia was born in 1975 in Tehran, Iran. He is a writer and producer, known for Apocalypto (2006), The Professor and the Madman (2019) and Boss (2011). He has been married to Laura Regan since 2007.

Payam Yazdani is known for Kobra's Decision (2007), There Are Things You Don't Know (2010) and What's the Time in Your World? (2014).

Parviz Say'yad, is arguably the best known Iranian actor/comedian of the pre-revolution era in Iran. He still is a household name among Iranians today. A showman, actor, talented comedian, writer and producer of many TV shows and Iranian cinema. He created the character "Samad", a naive innocent country-boy, mischievous with a heart-of-gold whose views of life around him are simple and to the point. Samad through his childish take on life, hinted at political/cultural issues of the time. The character Samad has been compared with Chaplin's Tramp, and as a result, he often is referred to as Charlie Chaplin of Iran.

Rosie Malek-Yonan is an Assyrian born in Tehran who lives in the U.S. She is an actress, award winning writer, director, producer, published author, documentary filmmaker, a classically trained pianist, composer, and an Assyrian advocate. She is a descendant of one of the oldest and most prominent Assyrian Christian families from the Middle-East, the Malek Family of Jilu, tracing her Assyrian roots back eleven centuries.

Rosie's father, George Malek-Yonan (1924-2014), an Assyrian, was Iran's Champion of Champions with numerous gold medals in track and field and the pentathlon. He became an international attorney and is credited with securing a seat for the Assyrian Christians as a recognized minority in the Iranian Parliament (Majlis). This was a huge milestone for a nation without a country since the fall of the Assyrian Empire. Rosie's mother, Lida Malek-Yonan (1928-2002) also an Assyrian, was a well-known humanitarian and activist who tirelessly worked a lifetime demanding rights for minority Assyrian Christian women in Iran and secured their recognition by establishing the Assyrian Women's Organization, the only Assyrian organization officially recognized as a charter member of the Iranian Women's Association presided over by Queen Farah Pahlavi.

Rosie's grandparents who were survivors of the Assyrian Genocide of 1914-1918, left Geogtapah during the Great Exodus from Urmia in 1918. After World War One, Dr. Jesse Malek-Yonan, her great uncle, represented the Assyrians of Urmia, Iran, at the Paris Peace Talks in 1919. Before WWII, the Malek-Yonan family returned to Tehran where her parents met and were married.

Her sister, Monica, works very closely with her on most of her projects. The Malek-Yonan sister are award-winning writers whose screenplays have earned more than a hundred awards and nominations at film festivals and screenplay competitions nationally and internationally. The sisters trained in the U.S. in figure skating and were to represent Iran in the 1980 Winter Olympics but decided not to compete after the Iranian Revolution made it virtually impossible. The new Islamic Government required them to denounce Christianity and become Muslim, wear head covering, long skirts, and perform without music.

Rosie began studying classical piano at the age of four and attended the Tehran Conservatory of Music. She won first place in many national piano competitions and was invited by Queen Farah Pahlavi to play at a Command Performance for the Royal Family.

She received her degree in English from the University of Cambridge and continued studying classical piano with Saul Joseph at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and acting with Ray Reinhardt at the American Conservatory Theatre. She graduated from San Francisco State University with two degrees in Music. She won an invitation to study drama at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and studied acting at the historic Pasadena Playhouse where she performed on the main stage in "The Time of Your Life". Rosie has directed and written numerous plays that have been produced and performed on stage to rave reviews.

She made her television debut on Dynasty (1981) in 1982 followed by a national commercial for AT&T where she spoke in Assyrian (related to Aramaic), a language that, years later, director Mel Gibson would use in The Passion of the Christ (2004). Since the early 1980s, she has worked on notable television shows, in films and onstage, opposite many of Hollywood's leading actors. She played Nuru Il-Ebrahim, opposite Reese Witherspoon, in New Line Cinema's Rendition (2007), directed by Academy Award-winning director Gavin Hood.

Rosie Malek-Yonan is an outspoken advocate of issues concerning her Assyrian nation, in particular bringing attention to the 1914-1918 Assyrian Genocide as well as the plight of modern-day Assyrians in the Middle-East since the 2003 invasion of Iraq by the United States and its Coalition Forces. She is frequently interviewed on television and radio programs worldwide including Australia's ABC National Radio and publications such as the New York Times, giving her assessment of the current situation of the Assyrians in the Middle-East as well as discussing the topic of the Assyrian Genocide. As a public speaker, she has been invited to lecture on the topic of the Assyrian Genocide. She has lectured at University of California (Berkeley and Merced campuses) and at Woodbury University, among other schools. In 2008, she addressed the topic of genocide, world peace and the 1914-1918 Assyrian Genocide in statements invited to be presented at the House of Lords on 12 March and on 24 April at the UK House of Commons.

She is the author of "Rosie Malek-Yonan's The Crimson Field", an historical and literary epic novel, based on real events and true family chronicles set to the backdrop of the 1914-1918 Assyrian Genocide, in which 750,000 Assyrians were massacred by the Ottoman Turks, Kurds, and Persians in Ottoman Turkey and in the Assyrian inhabited region of Urmia in northwestern Iran.

In 2006, Washington D.C.-based Zinda Magazine, selected "Rosie Malek-Yonan's The Crimson Field" as The Assyrian Event of the Year 2005 and MAKE, a Chicago Literary Magazine featured it in their 4th edition. "Rosie Malek-Yonan's The Crimson Field" was added to the State University of New York (SUNY) course curriculum. This is the first time that the Assyrian Genocide was recognized and studied at an institution of higher learning.

When Rosie Malek-Yonan's The Crimson Field was brought to the attention of Congress, on June 30, 2006, Rosie was invited to testify on Capitol Hill before a Congressional Committee of the 109th Congress on religious freedom regarding the genocide, massacres and persecution of Assyrians in Iraq by Kurds and Islamists. During her 33-minute testimony, she compared the events of 1914-1918, as depicted in The Crimson Field, to the current plight of the indigenous Assyrian Christians in Iraq. Her passionate testimony and plea to the United States government, ultimately prompted Congressman Christopher Smith (R-NJ) to travel to war-torn Iraq to witness matters for himself. While in Iraq, after meeting with local Assyrians, he turned in Malek-Yonan's report to U.S. Officials in Iraq. One year later, a Congressional Appropriations Subcommittee unanimously voted on and sent $10 million to aid the Assyrians in Iraq.

Monica Malek-Yonan's documentary film, My Assyrian Nation on the Edge, was based on Rosie's Congressional Testimony. It was released September 2006. On 7 August 2008, the documentary film premiered at the Australian Parliament of New South Wales in Sydney.

Various media sources including The Annual Report of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, and the U.K. Iraqi Study have quoted and used Rosie Malek-Yonan's Congressional Testimony and her various published articles, speeches and interviews regarding the state of affairs in Iraq concerning its Assyrian indigenous people as well as the Assyrian refugees in Syria, Jordan, and Lebanon. Her Congressional Testimony and her book, The Crimson Field, have been referenced in numerous academic papers and books.

Rosie Malek-Yonan is a contributing writer to "Seyfo: Genocide, Denial and the Right of Recognition" (ISBN 91-972351-2-1), a book which is a compilation of articles and speeches presented at conferences held in the European Parliament and published in the Netherlands.

At the 73rd Annual Assyrian Convention in Chicago, the Board of Advisers of the Assyrian American National Federation, Inc. named and awarded Rosie Malek-Yonan 2006 Woman of the Year.

For her numerous contributions as an actress, artist, director, author, and activist, IAPAC awarded Rosie Malek-Yonan the 2008 Excellence in Arts and Entertainment Award.

At the Assyrian Universal Alliance 26th World Conference in Sydney, Australia, Rosie Malek-Yonan was awarded and named the 2009 Assyrian Woman of the Year in recognition of her substantial contribution to advance the Assyrian national cause by promoting international recognition of the Assyrian Genocide, her extensive efforts in conveying the needs of the Assyrians to the United States government, and achievements in providing individual service to the Assyrian community worldwide.

For International Woman's Day, the Netherland based Assyrie Magazinë gave her the recognition of Assyrian Power-Woman.

Robert Kennedy Center Human Rights - Women's History Month Spotlight, Kerry Kennedy wrote: "Rosie Malek-Yonan fearlessly shines light on the challenges of Assyrians in Iraq...Rosie strives for peaceful conflict resolution in the face of violence."

She has spoken at the Simon Wiesenthal Center Museum of Tolerance to address the escalating crisis and the deadly attacks on the Assyrians in Iraq.

Rosie was an ambassador for the Swedish-based humanitarian organization, Assyrians Without Borders. She is a founding member of the Assyrian Cultural and Arts Society. For several years beginning in 2005 scholarships were given to students at Woodbury University's Design School through an annual Assyrian Design Competition.

Shiva Rose was born in Santa Monica, Los Angeles. An American of Irish and Iranian decent, she was raised in Iran until the age of ten when she and her family were forced to escape to Paris, then to Los Angeles.

She began her stage career at 15 at several theaters in Santa Monica. She attended UCLA and then married actor Dylan McDermott. While devoting her life as a mother to raise a daughter, she continued to act on stage, television and film.

She gained recognition for her starring role in the critically-acclaimed David and Layla which Nobel Laureate Harold Pinter described as "'A bold, politically relevant film against impossible odds." The film got theatrical distribution, followed by Time Warner's VOD and Digital Distribution. It continues to be distributed abroad.

David & Layla garnered Shiva Rose the "Best Breakthrough Actress" Award.

She continues her career in the theater as an actress and writer. She wrote Fragile Life based on the life of the photographer Tina Modotti.

She is active with several charitable organizations including being a spokesperson for Amnesty International Refugee Program.

Shiva Rose and Dylan McDermott divorced in 2009. She continues to write for various magazines (Vogue, Lucky) and online sites (eco-stilletto, Huffington Post). She maintains a life style website devoted to her organic holistic lifestyle called The Local Rose.

Currently (2011), she is the Executive Producer of a feature film 'Relative Insanity', starring Maggie Grace and Helen Hunt.

Shiva Rose lives with her two daughters in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, California.

Taies Farzan was born in Tehran, Iran. Her family moved to Turkey and thereafter to Germany. She speaks Persian, Turkish, German, English, Kurdish. She was on stage at the age of 14 in Cologne Germany and appeared in lead positions in more than 15 stage pieces until she met Daryush Shokof in a casting for a film which got her interest bent more towards the movies rather than Theater. She has been a long associate of Shokof with whom she produced 2 movies and acted in 2 films of Shokof as the lead (Tenussian Vacuvasco, and Breathful). She has two sisters Doris and Candice. Her mother is Farkhondeh and they all live in Germany. Her father was a famous Iranian actor, Dubbing master, who also Directed films before they left Iran after the revolution. Her mother was a well known Radio personality as well as a popular Voice Dub personality in the Iranian cinema before the revolution.

Shohreh Aghdashloo was born Shohreh Vaziri-Tabar on May 11, 1952 in Tehran, Iran. In the 1970s at age 20, she achieved nationwide stardom in her homeland of Iran, starring in some prominent pictures such as The Report (1977) directed by the renowned Abbas Kiarostami, which won critics awards at the Moscow Film Festival. In 1978, she won wider acclaim and established herself as one of Iran's leading ladies with Desiderium (1978) directed by the late Ali Hatami. During the 1978 Islamic revolution, Aghdashloo left Iran for England, to complete her education. Her interest in politics and her concern for social injustice in the world would lead her to receive a Bachelor's degree in International Relations.

She continued to pursue her acting career, which eventually brought her to Los Angeles, California in 1987. She went on to marry actor/playwright Houshang Touzie, performing in a number of his plays, successfully taking them to national and international stages. However, this was not easy getting work in Hollywood as a Middle Eastern actress with an accent; she had roles in some decent, though not great, films, including Twenty Bucks (1993), Surviving Paradise (2000) and Maryam (2002). She received good reviews for her 12 episodes on the fourth season of the Fox television series 24 (2001) as Dina Araz, a terrorist undercover as a well-to-do housewife and mother in Los Angeles. She had to wait quite some time to receive her break in Hollywood.

And finally, years after having read the acclaimed novel "House of Sand and Fog", DreamWorks were in the process of bringing the story to the silver screen. After having cast Ben Kingsley (as Massoud Amir Behrani) and Jennifer Connelly in the lead roles, they were looking for a relatively unknown Iranian actress to play Kingsley's wife, Nadi. Shohreh Aghdashloo was duly cast. She stole the limelight and earned herself an Academy Award nomination as best supporting actress amongst many other prestigious awards, including the Independent Spirit Award as best supporting actress in a feature film, the New York and Los Angeles film critics award and others.

Bahman Ghobadi was born in 1969 in Baneh, in the province of Iranian Kurdistan, near the Iran-Iraq border. Shortly after graduating from the National Audiovisual School, he made his first short, immediately acclaimed by the local critics. One of these short films, "Life in Fog" (1999) is even considered as the most famous short ever made in Iran. This success allowed Bahman Ghobadi to make several feature films, the best known being his first, "A Time for Drunken Horses" (2000), the first Kurd film in the history of Iran. This film and all the the others made by Ghobadi were hits in the festival circuit, garnered dozens of awards but were little seen or not seen at all in his native country. His last movie to date, filmed without official permit, rapidly and feverishly, "No One Knows About Persian Cats" (2009) is a remarkable semi-documentary about underground indie music in Tehran.

Mohsen Makhmalbaf is known as one of the most influential filmmakers and founders of the new wave of Iranian cinema in the world today.

Many of his films like Salam Cinema, A Moment Of Innocence, Gabbeh, Kandahar and The President have been widely well received across the globe and have brought him over 50 international awards from the prestigious film festivals like Cannes, Venice, Locarno... His film Kandahar has been chosen as one of the top 100 best movies of history of cinema by Times Magazine.

His fame as the most prominent filmmaker of Iran made him the subject of an identity theft by someone who wished to become a filmmaker. This incident turned to a famous film called Close up by Abbas Kiarostami.

Makhmalbaf has also taught his three children about the art of cinema. His older daughter Samira holds the record for the youngest filmmaker who have been selected for the official section of Cannes at the age of 17 with her first debut titled The Apple. Samira has also won the Grand Jury Prize of Cannes twice with her second and and third film titled The Blackboards and At Five In The Afternoon. Hana, Makhmalbaf's younger daughter, won the Crystal Bear of Berlin and the Grand Jury Prize of San Sebastian Film Festival with her first feature film.

At the age of 17 as a political activist Mohsen was shot by the police and spent 5 years in prison as a political prisoner. His fight and human right activities against dictatorship in Iran has continued till today. With his film Afghan Alphabet he managed to change a law in Iran which resulted in opening the door of schools and universities for education of over half million Afghan children refugee in his country. Makhmalbaf, the prestigious Manhae Peace Award winner, had also established his own NGO in Iran in which he executed 82 different human right projects for helping women and children of Afghanistan.

Since 2009, all 40 films of Makhmalbaf family alongside Mohsen's 30 published book are banned in his homeland. The Iranian government has also levied a ban on Makhmalbaf's name in the media. In 2013, the Iranian government also removed over 120 international awards of Makhmalbaf family from the museum of cinema in Iran.

Nooshin Navidi is known for Young Republic (2007).

BARRY NAVIDI - PRODUCER As a producer, friend, and confidant to some of the greatest legends of world cinema, Barry Navidi has been privileged to work with John Huston, Lauren Bacall, Robert Mitchum, Michael Caine, Paul Scofield, Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, Johnny Depp, John Hurt, Sean Connery, Jeremy Irons, Anthony Hopkins, Jessica Chastain, and many others. Barry Navidi graduated in 1985 from The London Film School, receiving a Postgraduate Degree in the Technique and the Art of Filmmaking. While in film school Navidi forged a long and lasting friendship with Danny Huston, which led to a professional and personal relationship with the entire Huston family. In 1987, Navidi produced John Huston's last film as an actor, "Mister Corbett's Ghost" financed by John Paul Getty, Jr. and directed by Danny Huston. The same year Navidi served as production consultant on "Mr. North", starring Angelica Huston, Lauren Bacall and Robert Mitchum and finally, he worked on the production of John Huston's last directorial effort, "The Dead,"(1988) starring Angelica Huston, based on the story by James Joyce. In 1990, Navidi moved to Los Angeles, where during the next four years he developed and packaged a number of film projects at Columbia Pictures, Paramount, Universal, Fox and Warner Bros. In 1993 he met Marlon Brando and worked as a production consultant, on the production of "Don Juan DeMarco" (1994), "The Island of Dr. Moreau" (1996), as producer on "Divine Rapture" (1996), and again as production consultant on "Free Money" (1998) and "The Score" (2001); all films starring Marlon Brando. In 2001, Navidi co-produced, with Debra Winger, "Big Bad Love," a film directed by Arliss Howard, starring Debra Winger and Rosanna Arquette. The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 2001. In 2004, Navidi produced the critically acclaimed adaptation of William Shakespeare's "The Merchant of Venice" starring Al Pacino, Jeremy Irons and Joseph Fiennes. The film premiered both at the Venice International Film Festival and Toronto Film Festival in 2004, and, subsequently, had a Royal Premiere in London in the presence of HRH Prince Charles benefiting The Prince's Trust. In 2008 Navidi produced "Wilde Salomé" based on Oscar Wilde's play 'Salomé" starring Al Pacino and Jessica Chastain, directed by Al Pacino. The film launched the career and ensuing stardom of Jessica Chastain, premiering at both the Venice International Film Festival and Dublin Film Festival in 2012. The film version of the play "Salomé" also produced by Navidi was completed in 2013 and premiered in 2014 at the British Film Institute, London. Barry Navidi and Al Pacino, as producing partners, have a number of film and TV projects currently in development, including "King Lear" based on the play by William Shakespeare, " Modigliani,' "Family Flaw," and mini-series "Man On The Rock" based on the last years of Napoleon. London and Los Angeles based Barry Navidi is a member of The British Academy of Film & Television Arts (BAFTA), Ambassador to Prince Charles' Trust, The BFI Friend and Board of Directors, Shakespeare Center of Los Angeles .

An actor and stand up comedian, born in London to Iranian parents of the Baha'i faith. He studied English and Theatre Studies. He recently starred in the Netflix Global drama The Letter for the King (2020) as Sir Fantumar and the HBO/BBC series His Dark Materials (2019). A Perrier Award nominee in 2002 and Edinburgh Comedy Award Panel Prize winner in 2016, Omid has starred in films such as the smash hits Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again (2018), the Oscar nominated Shaun the Sheep Movie (2015), Oscar winning Gladiator (2000), Sex and The City 2, The Mummy and The Infidel. Other films include Mr Nice, Grown Your Own, Over the Hedge, Casanova, Modigliani, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, The Calcium Kid, Anita & Me, Mean Machine and Spy Game. Other notable TV credits include two series of his own BBC One show, The Omid Djalili Show (2007), and a co-starring role in Whoopi Goldberg's NBC sitcom Whoopi. Omid was also part of the 2018 line-up for ITV's We Are Most Amused and Amazed, a televised celebration for The Prince of Wales' 70th birthday. Omid executive produced the acclaimed 2015 documentary We Are Many (2014) about the global anti-war demonstrations that took place in 800 cities on 15th February 2003.

Maz Jobrani was born on 26 February 1972 in Tehran, Iran. He is an actor and writer, known for Friday After Next (2002), Jimmy Vestvood: Amerikan Hero (2016) and Dragonfly (2002). He has been married to Preetha since 2006. They have two children.

Narges Rashidi was born in Iran, settled in 1987 with her family at first in Turkey and a year later to Germany. After graduation she moved to Berlin and studied acting. In 2005 she attended in Los Angeles the Master Class with MK Lewis. In 2007 she received the award for Best Young Actress at the New York International Independent Film Video Festival for her role as Lolita in A2Z. The German public knows her, among other things through her roles in Schwarze Schafe, Schimanski: Schicht im Schacht, Breathful, Dating Lancelot and KDD. In 2012 Narges Rashidi will be one of the main cast of a new Sat.1 series.

She played in the woman-band "Even Cowgirls get the blues", which also helped her to play her part in the movie Bandits (1997). She wrote most of the songs for the Soundtrack of "Bandits". On 3rd December 2002, her first child, a girl named Angelina Sherri Rose, was born. Father of the child is the American musician Tico Zamora, who lives in Berlin with Jasmin.

In 2003, Jasmin will also take part in the tour of German singer Nena (tour is called "Nena & Friends") and she helped Nena to make the English project "Red Nose Day" more popular in Germany.

Afshin Akhavan is known for Hitler's Grave (2010), Fictionality (2012) and Iran Zendan (2010).

Shaheen Shokoofandeh is known for Art moves (2021), Moon & 8 and Strange, Stranger (2012).

Daryoush Zandi is known for Wordlessness (2012).

Darius Khondji was born on 21 October 1955 in Tehran, Iran. He is a cinematographer and actor, known for Se7en (1995), The Immigrant (2013) and The Lost City of Z (2016). He is married to Marianne Khondji. They have three children.

Darius Homayoun is known for Succession (2018), Tehran (2020) and Sex/Life (2021).

Bahar Soomekh was born on March 30, 1975 in Tehran, Iran, to a Persian Jewish family. She is the daughter of Manijeh and Hamid Soomekh, who owned a women's high fashion company. She has a sister, Saba Soomekh. The family moved to Los Angeles in 1979, to escape the Iranian revolution. She attended a yeshiva, Sinai Akiba Academy, and Beverly Hills High School, where she played the violin in the school orchestra. She majored in environmental studies at the University of California at Santa Barbara. Soomekh began working at a corporate job, and took acting classes at night, before quitting her job to pursue a full-time acting career.

Bahar began acting at age 27, guest starring in television shows like Without a Trace (2002), 24 (2001), JAG (1995), among others. She got her big break portraying an Iranian-American woman named Dorri, speaking fluent English and Farsi, in the Academy Award winner for Best Picture, Crash (2004). The whole cast won the Screen Actor's Guild Award for Outstanding Cast in a Motion Picture. Bahar also appeared in the director's cut version of another Academy Award winning movie, Syriana (2005), playing Yassi. Bahar got some more attention playing Davian's translator in Mission: Impossible III (2006). She had a leading role in the horror film Saw III (2006), playing a victim, Dr. Lynn Denlon. She had also portrayed Margo on the television series Day Break (2006). Recently, Soomekh got one of the lead roles as Hollis on the television series The Oaks (2008), which will come out in the fall of 2008.

Amir Naderi is one of the most influential figures of 20th century Persian cinema. He developed his knowledge of cinema by watching films at the theater where he worked as a boy, reading film criticism, and making relationships with leading film critics. He began his career with still photography for some notable Iranian features. In the 1970s, Mr. Naderi turned to directing, and made some of the most important features of the New Iranian Cinema. In 1971, his directorial debut, GOODBYE, FRIEND, was released in Iran. Amir Naderi first came into the international spotlight with films that are now known as cinema classics, THE RUNNER (1985), and WATER, WIND, DUST (1989). THE RUNNER is considered by many critics to be one of the most influential films of the past quarter century. After expatriating to New York in the early '90s, Amir Naderi continued to produce new work. He was named a Rockefeller Film and Video Fellow in 1997, and has served as an artist in residence and instructor at Columbia University, the University of Las Vegas, and New York's School of Visual Arts. His US films have premiered at the Film Society of Lincoln Center/ MoMA's New Directors/ New Films series, the Venice, Cannes, Tribeca, and Sundance Film Festivals. His film SOUND BARRIER (2005) had its premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival and won the prestigious Roberto Rossellini Prize at the Rome Film Festival. His last feature film VEGAS: BASED ON A TRUE STORY (2008) was in competition at the Venice Film Festival, where it won the CinemAvvenire Best Film in Competition Prize and the SIGNIS Award. The film was also shown at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York, the Pusan International Film Festival and CineVegas in Las Vegas. His last three films MARATHON, SOUND BARRIER, and VEGAS were all shown at the FILMeX Film Festival in Tokyo.