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Parviz Parastui was born on June 24, 1955 in the village of Charli in the Hamedan providence of Iran to a farming family. They moved to Tehran in pursuit of a better life when he was three years old. He began acting on stage at age fifteen by joining the theatrical group of director, Bahram Beyzaie. Later, he joined Kouch Theater Group through fellow actor, Behzad Farahani. He performed at Youth Palace and the Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults for years. Parastui received his high school diploma in Biology at age 19, and at age 20 and 21 received awards from Youth Palace for his performance in "Kiosk" and "Submitters," respectfully. After the establishment of the Islamic Republic of Iran, he earned his degree from the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance in Dramatic Arts and worked as a judicial receptionist prior to becoming a full-time actor.
His debut in cinema was in Land of Lovers (1984) (Lovers Reunion), which earned him the Diploma of Honor for Best Actor in a Supporting Role from Tehran's Fajr International Film Festival at age 28. Ever since, he has played the leading role in numerous movies of different genres from comedy to drama, including the lowlife but dependable Javad in Snowman (1995) (Snowman), which was banned in Iran for many years, the traumatophobic imposter Sadeq Meshkini in controversial film Leily Is with Me (1996) (Leily is with Me), which earned him the Diploma of Honor for Best Actor in a Lead Role from Farj Film Festival, the scientist who's brain gets put in the body of the laundry detergent company that would not hire him in the unique, popular, and critically claimed comedy, The Changed Man (1998) (The Wrong Man), Haj Kazem, the former commander of the Iran-Iraq war, in The Glass Agency (1998), which brought him his first Crystal Simorgh award in the Best Lead Actor from Fajr Film Festival. His performance in The Red Ribbon (1999) is also noteworthy. The film that made him known worldwide is the comedy The Lizard (2004) where he played the role of a fugitive thief dressed as a mullah to escape imprisonment. He received the Special Jury Award for his performance from Fajr Film Festival. In Majid Majidi's The Willow Tree (2005), he played a blind man who falls in love with someone other than his wife when he gets the chance to see again. He won his second Crystal Simorgh for Best Actor in a Lead Role for his performance in that film from Fajr Film Festival and another Crystal Simorgh for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his performance in In the Name of the Father (2006).
Parastui has worked with some of the finest directors of Iranian cinema such as Davood Mir-Bagheri, Kamal Tabrizi, Mohamad Reza Honarmand, Ebrahim Hatamikia, Fereydoun Jeyrani, Ahmad Reza Darvish, and Majid Majidi.- Actor
- Director
- Producer
Hamid Farrokhnezhad is an Iranian actor, writer, and director. He has received various accolades, including four Simorgh award (two for acting), two Hafez Awards, three Iran Cinema Celebration Awards, and an Iran's Film Critics and Writers Association Award. He started his career in student theatre and making some short films. After acting in Khosrow Sinai's Dar Kooche-haye Eshgh he had the chance to play a role in another movie by Sinai, Aroos-e Atash aka Bride of fire which brought him many awards in Fajr Film Festival, Karlovy Vary International Film Festival and Khane-ye Cinema award. He had roles in three films by Sinai and had worked with notable Iranian directors such as Ebrahim Hatamikia, Asghar Farhadi and Bahram Beyzayi. He also gained TV popularity after acting in the role of a ghost named "Hasan Golab" in a TV series directed by Ebrahim Hatamikia.- Amir Jafari is an Iranian actor originally from Zanjan province. He studied acting under the supervision of Hamid Samandarian and his first movie role was in 2001 with the films "Naan, Eshgh and Motor 1000" and "Poisonous Mushroom". The following year, he was nominated for the TV comedy actor award from Hafez festival for his role in the TV series without description.
Jafari has acted in the films Max (2013) and the rule of accident (2011), as well as the series "Forbidden Fruit" (2013), "Zir Hasht" (2013) and Yaghi (2014) and "Yaghi" series. He was nominated for the best actor award from Hafez festival.
He has won five awards from Fajr Theater Festival.
He experienced his first acting role on television with the series "without description" (2008). His couple with Fathali Oweisi in the collection "Without Description" and Saeed Aghakhani in "Chardivari" (2008) were well received by the audience. - Actor
- Director
Javad Ezzati (born 10 January 1982 in Tehran, Iran) is an Iranian film, theater and television actor and graduate of Soura Conservatory. He has entered the world of acting professionally since 1996. Ezzati first started his career in theater and then in 2002 he played his first TV work. movie "wing mirror", directed by Manouchehr Hadi and starring Javad Ezzati in 2017, managed to sell 1.2 billion Tomans in its first three days of sales, along with the sale of the movie "Oxidan" , turned Javad Ezzati into the best-selling actor in Iran in 2017.Along with Reza Attaran in the film "Hazarpa" directed by Abolhassan Davoodi, he was able to significantly increase the sales record of the film in Iran. He is married to Mahlagha Bagheri , a film, theater and television actress, in 2006. He co-starred with his wife in the movies "wing mirror" and "Butterfly Stroke" , and the series "The Great Troubles 2" and "Baaghe Mozaffar" .- Jamshid Hashempour is an Iranian actor. Jamshid Hashempour has starred in action and thriller movies.
At the age of 24, he started acting in the film "Jahannam Sefid" (1968) directed by Samuel Khachikian and has played roles in more than 100 films and 3 series of home shows. At the end of the 16th International Resistance Film Festival, he was honored for a lifetime of artistic activity.
At the beginning, Hashempour was introduced by one of his friends to the famous director of Iranian cinema, Samuel Khachikian, due to his face and body style, and after that, he appeared in the films Taraj (1985) directed by Iraj Qaderi, and Afei (1992) directed by Mohammad Reza Aalami. Javanmard (1974) directed by Mahdi Jourak became famous. he is generally known for his role as "Zinal Bandari" in the movie Taraj. - Actor
- Director
- Additional Crew
Behnam Tashakkor is an Iranian Actor born on January 24, 1977 Bandar Anzali,Iran. As a teenager, he started playing soccer, then chess and billiards and since 1995, he started working in the theater by playing in the comedy show Mirza Farfareh in Sari. One of his most important roles is playing the role of "Dr.Nima Afshar" in the series Medical Center (2011). He has a bachelor's degree in business economics from Firuzkuh Islamic Azad University.- Actor
- Producer
- Director
Mosaffa was born in Tehran, Iran. His father, Mozaher Mosaffa is a renowned Persian poet and professor of Persian literature at the University of Tehran (UT). Mosaffa's mother, Amir Banoo Karimi is also a leading scholar and professor of Persian literature at the University of Tehran (UT) and the eldest daughter of the legendary Persian poet, Amiri Firuzkuhi.
As a child, Mosaffa discovered his interest in story writing and english, contributing to his fluency in the language. He is a graduate of Civil Engineering from the University of Tehran (UT) where he showed an interest in acting; making his debut in the 1991 film, Omid. Mosaffa went on to win the prize for best male actor the following year at the Fajr International Film Festival for his role in Darius Mehrjui's film, Pari. Mosaffa met his future wife, Iranian actress Leila Hatami on the set of Dariush Mehrjui's 1996 film, Leila. The two married in 1999 and have two children, a son named Mani (born February 2007) and a daughter named Asal (born October 2008).
Mosaffa's experience with directing began with the short films, Incubus, The Neighbor and the documentary feature, Farib-e-She'r or The Deceit of Poesy. He then went on to direct his first film in 2005 with Portrait of a Lady Far Away /Sima-ye Zani Dar Doordast, starring Leila Hatami and Homayoun Ershadi which was awarded the Sutherland Trophy at the BFI London Film Festival also known as the London Film Festival. His first feature film subsequently won the hearts of the audience winning the People's Choice Award at the Chicago International Film Festival and was nominated for the Crystal Globe at the 2005 Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. Mosaffa's second film, The Last Step /Pele ye Akhar, starring Leila Hatami has received acclaim from critics and audiences worldwide following its international premiere at the 2012 Karlovy Vary International Film Festival which gained Mosaffa the international critics' FIPRESCI prize for best film and awarded Leila Hatami with the Crystal Globe for Best Actress for her leading role in the film.
In October 2012, Mosaffa joined Oscar winning director of A Separation, Asghar Farhadi in Paris; starring alongside Bérénice Bejo and Tahar Rahim for Farhadi's first foreign language film, "Le Passé" or "The Past" set to premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2013.- Actor
- Writer
Khosro Shakibai was born on 27 March 1944 in Tehran, Iran. He was an actor and writer, known for Hamoun (1990), Unruled Paper (2002) and Night Bus (2007). He was married to Parvin Kooshiar and Tania Johari. He died on 18 July 2008 in Tehran, Iran.- Actor
- Producer
- Casting Director
Mohammad Reza Sharifinia is an Iranian actor and film producer . Sharifinia was seen for the first time playing a very short role (a university professor) in the movie Pari (Dariush Mehrjooi). He began his acting career with Avinar (1991, S. Asadi).
In addition to acting in minor or major roles in movies and TV series, Mohammad Reza Sharifinia has worked in many films as Producer, assistant director, cinematographer, casting director and photographer. He became famous after his acting in Imam Ali (1995, Mir Bagheri).
After graduating from the Faculty of Dramatic Arts, he married Iranian actress Azita Hajian. They've got two daughters called Mehraveh and Melika. Both Mehraveh Sharifinia and Melika Sharifinia are actresses and have played in many important Persian series. In December 2010, and after nearly 20 years living separately, Sharifinia and Hajian filed for divorce.- Actor
- Writer
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Atila Pesyani was an Iranian actor. Among the films in which he performed are The Hidden Half (2001), Ceasefire 1 and 2 (2005 and 2014), Hidden Feeling (2006), Throughout the Night (2010), The Redemption (2010), The President's Cell Phone (2011) and The Wooden Bridge (2011). Some series which he played roles in are The First Night of Peace (2006), Privacy Policy (2009), Goodbye Child (2012), A Piece of Land (2012), Like a Mother (2013), Madineh (2014) and A Beautiful Revolution (2014).
Pesyani received a nomination for the Best Supporting Actor Golden Statue for the movies Two Women (1998), The Burnt Generation (1999), The Last Supper (2001) and Who Killed Amir? (2005) as well as a nomination for the Crystal Simorgh's Best Leading Actor for In Cold Blood (1994) from the Fajr International Film Festival.
Atila Pesyani was the son of actress Jamileh Sheykhi.
Pesyani died of stomach cancer on 6 October 2023, at the age of 66.- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Dariush Mehrjui was born to a middle-class family in Tehran. He showed interest in painting miniatures, music, and playing santoor and piano. He spent a lot of time going to the movies, particularly American films which were un-dubbed and inter-spliced with explanatory title cards that explained the plot throughout the films. At this time Mehrjui started to learn English so as to better enjoy the films. The film that had the strongest impact on him as a child was Vittorio De Sica's Bicycle Thieves. At the age of 12, Mehrjui built a 35 mm projector, rented two-reel films and began selling tickets to his neighborhood friends. In 1959, Mehrjui moved to the United States to study at University of California, Los Angeles' (UCLA) Department of Cinema. One of his teachers there was Jean Renoir, whom Mehrjui credited for teaching him how to work with actors. Mehrjui was dissatisfied with the film program due to its emphasis on the technical aspects of film and the quality of most of the teachers. He switched his major to philosophy and graduated from UCLA in 1964. Mehrjui started his own literary magazine in 1964, Pars Review. The magazine's intention was to bring contemporary Persian literature to western readers. During this time he wrote his first script with the intention of filming it in Iran. He moved back to Tehran in 1965. Back in Tehran, Mehrjui found employment as a journalist and screenwriter. From 1966 to 1968 he was a teacher at Tehran's Center for Foreign Language Studies, where he taught classes in literature and English language. He also gave lectures on films and literature at the Center for Audiovisual Studies through the University of Tehran.
Dariush Mehrjui made his debut in 1966 with Diamond 33, a big budget parody of the James Bond film series. The film was not financially successful. But his second feature film, Gaav, brought him national and international recognition. The film Gaav, a symbolic drama, is about a simple villager and his nearly mythical attachment to his cow. The film is adapted from a short story by renowned Iranian literary figure Gholamhossein Sa'edi. Sa'edi was a friend of Mehrjui and suggested the idea to him when Mehrjui was looking for a suitable second film, and they collaborated on the script. Through Sa'edi, Mehrjui met the actors Ezzatolah Entezami and Ali Nassirian, who were performing in one of Sa'edi's plays. Mehrjui would work with Entezami and Nassirian throughout his career. The film's score was composed by musician Hormoz Farhat. The film was completed in 1969. In the film, Entezami stars as Masht Hassan, a peasant in an isolated village in southern Iran. Hassan has a close relationship with his cow, which is his only possession (Mehrjui has said that Entezami even resembled a cow in the film). When other people from Hassan's village discover that the cow has been mysteriously killed, they decide to bury the cow and tell Hassan that it has run away. While in mourning for the cow, Hassan goes to the barn where it was kept and begins to assume the cow's identity. When his friends attempt to take him to a hospital, Hassan commits suicide. Gaav was banned for over a year by the Ministry of Culture and Arts, despite being one of the first two film in Iran to receive government funding. This was most likely due to Sa'edi being a controversial figure in Iran. His work was highly critical of the Pahlavi government, and he had been arrested sixteen times. When it was finally released in 1970, it was highly praised and won an award at the Ministry of Culture's film festival, but it was still denied an export permit. In 1971, the film was smuggled out of Iran and submitted to the Venice Film Festival where, without programming or subtitles, it became the largest event of that year's festival. It won the International Critics Award at Venice, and later that year, Entezami won the Best Actor Award at the Chicago International Film Festival. Along with Masoud Kimiai's Qeysar and Nasser Taqvai's Calm in Front of Others, the film Gaav initiated the Iranian New Wave movement and is considered a turning point in the history of Iranian cinema. The public received it with great enthusiasm, despite the fact that it had ignored all the traditional elements of box office attraction. It was screened internationally and received high praise from many film critics. Several of Iran's prominent actors (Entezami, Nassirian, Jamshid Mashayekhi, and Jafar Vali) played roles in the film. While waiting for Gaav to be released and gaining international recognition, Mehrjui was busy directing two more films. In 1970 he shot Agha-ye Hallou (Mr. Naive), a comedy which starred and was written by Ali Nassirian. The film also starred Fakhri Khorvash and Entezami. In the film, Nassirian plays a simple, naive villager who goes to Tehran to find a wife. While in the big city he is treated roughly and constantly fooled by local hustlers and con artists. When he goes into a dress shop to purchase a wedding gown, he meets a beautiful young woman (Fakhri Khorvash) and proposes to her. The young woman turns out to be a prostitute who rejects him and takes his money, spending him back to his village empty handed but more world-wise. Agha-ye Hallou was screened at the Sepas Film Festival in Tehran in 1971 where it won awards for Best Film and Best Director. Later that year it was screened at the 7th Moscow International Film Festival. It was a commercial success in Iran. After finishing Agha-ye Hallou in 1970, Mehrjui traveled to Berkeley, California and began writing an adaptation of Georg Büchner's Woyzeck for a modern-day Iranian setting. He went back to Iran later in 1970 to shoot Postchi (The Postman), which starred Nassirian, Entezami and Jaleh Sam. In the film, Nassirian plays Taghi, a miserable civil servant whose life spirals into chaos. He spends his days as an unhappy mail carrier and has two night jobs in order to pay his debts. His misery has caused impotence and he is experimented upon by an amateur herbalist who is one of his employers. His only naive hope is that he will win the national lottery. When he discovers that his wife is the mistress of his town's wealthiest landowner, Taghi escapes to the local forest where he experiences a brief moment of peace and harmony. His wife comes looking for him, and in a fit of rage Taghi murders her and is eventually caught for his crime. Postchi faced the same censorship issues as Gaav, but was eventually released in 1972. It was screened in Iran at the 1st Tehran International Film Festival and at the Sepas Film festival. Internationally it was screened at the Venice Film Festival, where it received a special mention, the 22nd Berlin International Film Festival, where it received the Interfilm Award, and the 1972 Cannes Film Festival, where it was screened as part of the Directors' Fortnight. In 1973 Mehrjui began directing what was to be his most acclaimed film, The Cycle Mehrjui got the idea for the film when a friend suggest that he investigate the black market and illicit blood traffic in Iran. Horrified with what he found, Mehrjui took the idea to Gholamhossein Sa'edi, who had written a play on the subject, "Aashghaal-duni". The play became the basis for the script, which then had to be approved by the Ministry of Culture before production could begin. With pressure from the Iranian medical community, approval was delayed for a year until Mehrjui began shooting the film in 1974. The film stars Saeed Kangarani, Esmail Mohammadi, Ezzatollah Entezami, Ali Nassirian and Fourouzan. In the film, Kangarani plays Ali, a teenager who has brought his dying father (Mohammadi) to Tehran in order to find medical treatment. They are too poor to afford any help from the local hospital, but Dr. Sameri (Entezami) offers them money in exchange for giving illegal and unsafe blood donations at a local blood bank. Ali begins giving blood and eventually works for Dr. Sameri in luring blood donors, despite spreading diseases in the process. Ali meets another doctor (Nassirian) who is attempting to establish a legitimate blood bank, and helps Dr. Sameri in sabotaging his plans. Ali also meets and becomes the lover of a young nurse, played by Fourouzan. As Ali becomes more and more involved in the illegal blood trafficking, his father's health worsens until he finally dies and Ali must decide what path his life will take. The films title, Dayereh mina, refers to a line from a poem by Hafiz Shirazi: "Because of the cycle of the universe, my heart is bleeding." The film was co-sponsored by the Ministry of Culture but encountered opposition from the Iranian medical establishment and was banned for three years. It was finally released in 1977, with help from pressure from the Carter administration to increase human rights and intellectual freedoms in Iran. Because of a crowded film marketplace, the film premiered in Paris, and then was released internationally where it received rave reviews and was compared to Luis Buñuel's Los Olvidados and Pier Paolo Pasolini's Accattone. The film won the Fédération Internationale de la Presse Cinématographique Prize at the Berlin Film Festival in 1978. During this time, Iran was going through great political changes. The events leading up to the Iranian Revolution of 1979 were causing a gradual loosening of strict censorship laws, which Mehrjui and other artists had great hopes for. While waiting for The Cycle to be released, Mehrjui worked on several documentaries. Alamut, a documentary on the Isamailis, was commissioned by Iranian National Television in 1974. He was also commissioned by the Iranian Blood Transfusion Center to create three short documentaries about safe and healthy blood donations. The films were used by the World Health Organization in several countries for years. In 1978, the Iranian Ministry of Health commissioned Mehrjui to make the documentary Peyvast kolieh, about kidney transplants.
After the Islamic revolution Mehrjui directed Hayat-e Poshti Madrese-ye Adl-e Afagh (The School We Went to) in 1980. The film stars Ezzatollah Entezami and Ali Nassirian and is from a story by Fereydoon Doostdar. The film was sponsored by the Iranian Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults, whose filmmaking department was co-founded by Abbas Kiarostami. The film, seen as an allegory for the recent revolution, is about a group of high school students who join forces and rebel against their authoritative and abusive school principal. Film critic Hagir Daryoush criticized both the film and Mehrjui as propaganda and a work of the new regime more than Mehrjui himself. In 1981, Mehrjui and his family traveled to Paris and remained there for several years, along with several other Iranian refugees in France. During this time he made a feature-length semi-documentary about the poet Arthur Rimbaud for French TV, Voyage au Pays de Rimbaud in 1983. It was shown at the 1983 Venice Film Festival and at the 1983 London Film Festival. In 1985, Mehrjui and his family returned to Iran and Mehrjui resumed his film career under the new regime. In Hamoun (1990), a portrait of an intellectual whose life is falling apart, Mehrjui sought to depict his generation's post-revolutionary turn from politics to mysticism. Hamoon was voted the best Iranian film ever by readers and contributors to the Iranian journal Film Monthly. In 1995, Mehrjui made Pari, an unauthorized loose film adaptation of J. D. Salinger's book Franny and Zooey. Though the film could be distributed legally in Iran since the country has no official copyright relations with the United States, Salinger had his lawyers block a planned screening of the film at Lincoln Center in 1998. Mehrjui called Salinger's action "bewildering," explaining that he saw his film as "a kind of cultural exchange." His follow-up film, 1997's Leila, is a melodrama about an urban, upper-middle-class couple who learn that the wife is unable to bear children. Modern Iranian cinema begins with Dariush Mehrjui. Mehrjui introduced realism, symbolism, and the sensibilities of art cinema. His films have some resemblance with those of Rosselini, De Sica and Satyajit Ray, but he also added something distinctively Iranian, in the process starting one of the greatest modern film waves. The one constant in Mehrjui's work has been his attention to the discontents of contemporary, primarily urban, Iran. His film The Pear Tree (1999) has been hailed as the apotheosis of the director's examination of the Iranian bourgeoisie. Since his film The Cow in 1969, Mehrjui, along with Nasser Taqvai and Masoud Kimiai, has been instrumental in paving the way for the Iranian cinematic renaissance, so called the "Iranian New Wave."- Actor
- Producer
Bahram Radan is an award-winning Iranian actor,
He was born on 28 April 1979 in Tehran, Iran. After High School, he started studying Business Management in university.While attending the university, Radan signed up for acting classes. He was later given an opportunity for his first role in the film, The Passion of Love, which was the start of his acting career(1999). Radan has become so popular, play in 40 features. Iranian authorities have banned his likeness on billboards for a few years. Radan also attended in Toronto Film School where he took a class of acting in films(2012). He won all the important awards in national film festivals.- Actor
- Writer
- Director
Houman Seyyedi is an Iranian actor, director, screenwriter and editor. He has received various accolades, including six Crystal Simorghs-making him the only director to have three wins in Special Jury Prize category-two Hafez Awards, five Iran's Film Critics and Writers Association Awards, a NETPAC Award and an Asian New Talent Award. His sixth film, World War III (2022) won the Orizzonti Award for Best Film at the 79th Venice International Film Festival.
Houman Seyyedi is an Iranian theater, television and cinema actor & director, known for his role in " The Endless Way " series.
His directing of short movies, including '35 Meters Below Sea Level' and 'Blue Tooth', earned him several awards at Tehran International Short Film Festival. He also directed his first long movie 'Africa' in 2010.
Seyyedi, who was the writer as well as editor of 'Africa', managed to receive an award for Best Movie in video works section of the 29 Fajr International Film Festival.
He has participated in several movies, including 'Fireworks Wednesday' (2005), 'Barefoot in Heaven' (2005), 'He Who Goes to Sea' (2006), 'The Wound on Eve's Shoulder' (2007), 'The Freeway' (2010), 'Thirteen' (2012), 'The Exclusive Line' (2013), 'Confessions of My Dangerous Mind' (2014), 'Buffalo' (2014), 'I am Diego Maradona' (2014), 'Sleep Bridge' (2015) and 'Profiles' (2015).- Actor
- Producer
Davoud Rashidi was born on 16 July 1933 in Teheran, Persia. He was an actor and producer, known for The Unfinished Song (2001), The Exam (2002) and Escape from the Trap (1971). He was married to Ehteram Boroumand. He died on 26 August 2016 in Tehran, Iran.- Actor
- Writer
- Director
Behzad Farahani was born on 21 January 1945 in Iran. He is an actor and writer, known for A Guest from the Caribbean (2023), Journey of the Stone (1978) and The Hateful Wolf (1973). He has been married to Fahimeh Rahimnia since 1968. They have three children.- Actor
- Producer
Jamshid Mashayekhi is a celebrated Iranian actor and an iconic figure of Iranian cinema. Mashayekhi began professional acting on stage in 1957. His first feature film role was Brick and Mirror(1965, Ebrahim Golestan). After a four-year break, he acted in The Cow (1969, Darius Mehrjui) and Kaiser(Qeysar) (1969, Masoud Kimiai). Mashayekhi commonly appears as an elderly grandfather because of his white hair and charismatic face and figure. He received a best performance award for The Grandfather (1985, Majid Gharizadeh) from the First Festival of Non-aligned Countries in North Korea.- Enayatallah Shafii is known for Traveller of Rey (2001), The Entire Nation (1990) and The Crabs Attack (1992).
- Hesam Navab Safavi was born on 13 September 1974 in Tehran, Iran. He is an actor, known for Deportees 3 (2011), The Runaway Bride (2005) and Otanazi (2001).
- Actor
- Music Department
- Director
Amin Zendegani is an Iranian actor who started as king Solomon in the film The Kingdom of Solomon. He also starred in the Persian series Mukhtarnameh as Muslim ibn Aqeel. In 1995, he started acting in movies with "Young Advocates" directed by Bahram Beyzai, continuing with "towards victory", "the third path", "the youth age", etc. In 1995 he won the best male actor award in Fajr International Film Festival, and 2001 he was people's favorite actor of TV series. He also appeared in the movie "Mission in Tehran", which won 11 Golden Kolts in the Police Film Festival in Moscow.- Actor
- Composer
- Hamid Goudarzi studied acting at the Islamic Azad University.
He started his career by stage acting. His first cinematic experience was a short role in the film 'Sohrab' directed by Saeed Soheili in 1999.
Later he made fame because of his performances in movies such as 'Left-Handed' (2005), 'Murder Online' (2005), 'Unfaithful' (2006), 'Checkmate' (2008), 'Women are Amazing' (2010) and 'The Fox' (2014).
He is also widely known for roles in dramas such as 'Danny and I' (1997), 'Passenger from India' (2002), 'The Fifth Sun' (2009), 'Heart of Ice' (2010) and 'The Times' (2011). - Actor
- Director
- Writer
Majid Salehi was born on 17 September 1975 in Tehran, Iran. He is an actor and director, known for Number 10 (2023), Siavash (2021) and Columbus (2018).- Actor
- Director
- Producer
Mehran Ghafoorian was born on 25 August 1974 in Tehran, Iran. He is an actor and director, known for Blue Nissan (2021), On the Side Lines (2015) and Under the City Sky (2001).- Actor
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He graduated in directing and acting from Texas State University in 1974 and returned to Iran the same year to become a member of Iranian television. His cinematic activity began in 1978 with his role in Alireza Davoudnejad's film Forbidden. During his 40 years in Ovisi, he directed various role-playing films and several films.
Fath Ali Oveisi became a member of the "Television Knowledge Group" in 1975 and turned to filmmaking and making scientific documentaries. He made his first short film of 35 mm in 1975 called "The Last Tuesday".
Oveysi, along with artists such as Gholam-Hossein Lotfi, Dariush Arjmand, and Hossein Nouri, was one of the few members of the Veteran Artists Institute who had both acting and directing experience in cinema.
In addition to working in the fields of cinema, theater and television, Fath Ali Oveisi was also active in singing. He plays the song "Rain in the Glass" and in 2007 he performed a concert with the "Arpej" band in Saadabad Palace.
In 2012, Fath Ali Oveisi and his son released the album "Khoone Del".- Actor
- Director
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- Mahmoud Pakniat is known for Once Upon a Time (1991), Summer of 79 (1990) and The Inverted World (1998).
- Actor
- Music Department
Reza Rooygari is known for The Hour of Calamity (1972), The Good, the Bad, the Corny (2017) and Deportees 3 (2011).- Changiz Vossoughi is known for Dam (1995), You Confuse me with Somebody else Beautifuls (1974) and Lovelance: The Center of Emergency Love (2018).
- Akbar Abdi was born in 1958 in Teheran, Iran. He is an actor, known for I Feel Sleepy (2012), Scandal (2013) and Dreamy (2014).
- Hamed Behdad was born on November 17th, 1973 in Mashad, Iran. Hamed showed his talent in "End of Game". He played as "Foad" in "The Third Day" and this character is the best character that Hamed Behdad played and he was nominated for the best second actor in 25th Fajr International Film Festival.
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Saber Abar is an Iranian actor, director and writer. He is best known for his performance in About Elly (2008), directed by Academy Award-winning Asghar Farhadi. He has received various accolades, including two Iran Cinema Celebration Awards and an Iran's Film Critics and Writers Association Award, in addition to nominations for two Crystal Simorghs and two Hafez Awards. Abar began his career hosting television shows such as Rainbow, a children's TV show, and a game show called In 100 Seconds'. He later gained recognition with his role in Mohsen Makhmalbaf's Sha'ere Zobale. In 2006, he starred alongside Ezzatollah Entezami in Minaye Shahr-e Khamush as a driver and that role earned him a Crystal Simorgh Prize Nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Abar's talent did not go unnoticed in Dayere Zangi (2007), as he then was offered a role in Asghar Farhadi's About Elly. The movie received positive reviews, such as the review from David Bordwell, who called it a masterpiece. Abar played "Alireza", whose fiancée goes missing. The role earned him another nomination in the Fajr International Film Festival. Saber has also starred in Hich (2009), Nokhodi (2009), Thirteen 59 (2010) and Entehaye Khiabane Hashtom (2010) and had a cameo appearance in Ayene-haye Ruberu (2010). He plays the main role in The Frog.- Actor
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Navid Mohammadzadeh is an Iranian actor. He has received various accolades, including two Crystal Simorghs, four Hafez Awards, three Iran Cinema Celebration Awards and four Iran's Film Critics and Writers Association Awards. In 2017, he won the Orizzonti Award for Best Actor at the 74th Venice International Film Festival for his performance in No Date, No Signature (2017). His performance in the movie I'm Not Angry (2012) was praised by critics, and for it, he was nominated for the Crystal Simorgh for Best Actor from the Fajr Film Festival. He has also won the Crystal Simorgh for the best supporting actor of the Fajr Film Festival twice in a row for his roles in Abed and Yak Roz and Without Date, Without Signature. His first experience was in a show was the Frog series. He is of Persian and Kurdish origin. He has an associate degree in civil engineering. On July 19, 2021, he officially announced his marriage to Fereshteh Hosseini via a post on his official Instagram account.- Mostafa Zamani is an Iranian actor. He has received various accolades, including a Hafez Award and two Iran Cinema Celebration Awards, in addition to nominations for a Crystal Simorgh and an Iran's Film Critics and Writers Association Award.
His father is from Mazandran, and his mother is from Gilan. He lived in Gilan with his family. When he turned 7, they moved to Fereydunkenar Mazandaran Province. He is famous for many roles in Iran's film industry, but his memorable acting as Yousef in the Iranian TV series, "Yousef Nabi" (prophet Joseph) was the beginning of his stardom.
Zamani made his series debut in 2008 with Prophet Joseph, and cinematic debut in 2009 with Aul.
He has acted in several series, such as In the Eye of the Storm (2003-2009) and Shahrzad (2015-2018).
Since then, he has appeared in several movies, including Farewell Baghdad (2009), Retribution (2009), Parya's Story (2010), Parinaz (2010), The Final Whistle (2010), A Simple Romance (2011), The Queen (2011), I'm Her Spouse (2011), Berlin 7 (2011), Mirror and Candlestick (2012) and The Exclusive Line (2013). - Mehdi Soltani Sarvestani's principal performances have been limited to the theater. However, his recent acts in Iranian TV series have brought him success. He is currently working as a assistant professor in Arts and Architect School of Tehran University.
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Of Iranian descent, he was born in Boulder, Colorado, and grew up in Madison, Wisconsin. He graduated from Madison West High School and was a city boys high school tennis champion. Nowrasteh attended New Mexico State University on an athletic scholarship and later transferred to the University of Southern California to attend the School of Cinematic Arts. He is married to wife Elizabeth G. Nowrasteh commonly referred to as "Betsy." Nowrasteh's oldest son, Alex Nowrasteh, is an immigration policy analyst working at the Cato Institute. Nowrasteh's younger son, Mark Nowrasteh, studied in the UCLA Playwriting program. Mark's first play The Emperor & The Apostle will have its theatrical debut in Austin, Texas in Fall, 2013. Mark has also been hired by Rise Entertainment to write his first screenplay for a motion picture, for delivery in early 2014.
Nowrasteh began his career writing on the CBS television series, The Equalizer. He went on to work on other series (Falconcrest, D.E.A.), and wrote the pilot for the USA Network show La Femme Nikita (1996). He also worked on independent films such as the American/Brazilian production The Interview (1997, writer/co-producer), which played at Sundance and on the Showtime network; and Norma Jean, Jack and Me (1998), a film that was not theatrically released but played the festival circuit and aired on HDNet. In 2001 he wrote and directed the highly-rated, award-winning Showtime presentation The Day Reagan Was Shot, which starred Richard Dreyfuss as Alexander Haig and was executive produced by Oliver Stone. The following year he wrote 10,000 Black Men Named George, the story of the Pullman strike of the 1930s, for Showtime.
For both of the above films Nowrasteh received the Pen USA West Literary Award for Best Teleplay-the only writer in the history of the Pen awards to win two years in a row in the same category. The Day Reagan Was Shot also received the Eddie Award and the Golden Satellite Award for Best Motion Picture for Television, 2001, as well as a SAG nomination for Best Actor (Richard Dreyfuss). Nowrasteh also wrote the "Manifest Destiny" episode of the highly regarded (16 Emmy nominations) Steven Spielberg and TNT miniseries presentation, Into the West. Following that Nowrasteh wrote and produced the controversial ABC miniseries The Path to 9/11. He then went on to co-write (with his wife, Betsy Giffen Nowrasteh), and direct the film The Stoning of Soraya M., released in 2009 by Lionsgate Films.
Nowrasteh was attacked by Conservatives for an alleged "liberal bias" in his Showtime film, The Day Reagan Was Shot. Former Reagan National Security Advisor, Richard Allen, led the charge with a piece in the Wall Street Journal (December 14, 2001), accusing Nowrasteh and Executive Producer Oliver Stone of "yet another dubious Oliver Stone production" and referring to it as "The Day They Shot the Truth." Mr. Allen based his piece on tapes he had kept from that day, releasing only six minutes to support his position. Nowrasteh responded in the Los Angeles Times (December 24, 2001) and a letter to the editor in the Wall Street Journal (January 2, 2002), "the clear solution is to have Allen release the entire unedited tape and allow anyone to make the comparisons and draw whatever conclusions seem warranted." Nowrasteh concluded his Los Angeles Times piece by writing, "The Day Reagan Was Shot provides the first-ever dramatization of a constitutional crisis and government cover up (both amply supported by facts) and the threat they pose to a nation when a president becomes incapacitated. This is important and relevant and raises issues that should be discussed openly."
Nowrasteh was attacked by Liberals for an alleged "conservative bias" in his controversial ABC docudrama The Path to 9/11, which he wrote and co-produced. Nowrasteh describes himself as more libertarian than conservative or liberal.
The Stoning of Soraya M. was condemned and banned by the Iranian government but thousands of copies were bootlegged into the country and it became an underground hit in Iran - forcing the government to put a temporary moratorium on stoning as a punishment, most notably in the Sakineh Ashtiani case.
The Stoning of Soraya M. had its world premiere at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival, where it won Runner-up for the Audience Choice Award. It also won Second Runner-up for the Cadillac People's Choice Award, as well as the Audience Award for Best Feature at the 2009 Los Angeles Film Festival. The film also won the Heartland Truly Moving Picture Award, and the 2009 Ghent Film Festival's Canvas Audience Award. At the 2009 Satellite Awards, it was named one of the year's Top Ten Films and nominated for Best Drama Film, while its star Shohreh Agdashloo won Best Actress in a Drama. In 2010, the film was hailed as one of Movieguide's Ten Best 2009 Movies for Mature Audiences and was the co-winner, with Invictus (film), of Movieguide's Faith and Freedom Award for Promoting Positive American Values for 2009. It also shared, with "Women in Shroud," the Cinema for Peace Award for Justice in conjunction with the Berlin Film Festival and won Outstanding Foreign Motion Picture at the NAACP Image Awards.
Nowrasteh is developing a film adaptation of The Last Campaign, Thurston Clarke's account of Robert F. Kennedy's 1968 presidential campaign.
Nowrasteh is working on an adaptation of Anne Rice's novel Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt that he will adapt (with wife Betsy) and direct. The project grew out of a rave review Ms. Rice wrote of the film, The Stoning of Soraya M., on her Facebook page. Through her agent her novel was sent to the Nowrasteh's and they agreed to pursue it, setting the project up with 1492 Pictures and CJ Entertainment.
His most notable other project is a film about Andrew Jackson entitled The Battle of New Orleans. He is partnered with producer/manager Alan Siegel and Gerard Butler has expressed interest in portraying Jackson who led a ragtag army in defeating the British at New Orleans on January 8, 1815.- Actor
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Ezzatolah Entezami (also spell Ezatollah Entezami, born 1924 in Tehran, Iran) is an award-winning Iranian actor. Graduated from theater and cinema school in Hanover, Germany in 1958, Entezami started his career on stage in 1941. He has been acting in movies since 1969. His debut performance in Darius Mehrjui's admired classic film, The Cow(Gaav), received the Golden Hugo in Chicago International Film Festival in 1971. He shined in the role of a naive villager who cannot endure the death of his beloved cow and starts to believe that he is the cow himself.
He is known as one of the most prominent actors in Iranian cinema and has been labeled as the greatest actor in history of the cinema of Iran. He has worked with most of the prominent Iranian film directors, including Darius Mehrjui (eight films), Ali Hatami (four films), Nasser Taqvaee, Mohsen Makhmalbaf, Behrouz Afkhami and Rakhshan Bani-Etemad. He has been awarded the Crystal Simorgh for the Best Actor twice from the International Fajr Film Festival, for Grand Cinema and The Day of Angel.
His work and accomplishments were recognized in October 2006 at the Iran cultural center in Paris.- Actor
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Shahrokh Foroutanian is known for Three Women (2008), Mina's Choice (2016) and The Blue Triangle (2000).- Writer
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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.- Writer
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Abbas Kiarostami was born in Tehran, Iran, in 1940. He graduated from university with a degree in fine arts before starting work as a graphic designer. He then joined the Center for Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults, where he started a film section, and this started his career as a filmmaker at the age of 30. Since then he has made many movies and has become one of the most important figures in contemporary Iranian film. He is also a major figure in the arts world, and has had numerous gallery exhibitions of his photography, short films and poetry. He is an iconic figure for what he has done, and he has achieved it all by believing in the arts and the creativity of his mind.- Director
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Rambod Javan is known for Negar (2017), The Sinners (2012) and Gold (2019). He has been married to Negar Javaherian since 2014. He was previously married to Sahar Dolatshahi and Mandana Rouhi.- Actor
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Sepand Amirsoleimani was born on 19 December 1977 in Tehran, Iran. He is an actor and director, known for Shookhi Mamnoo (2009), The Good, the Bad, the Corny (2017) and Deportees (2007).- Actor
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Hooman Barghnavard is an Iranian Actor born on December 26, 1969 Theran,Iran. He started his career in the theater, But he has acted a lot in TV series and movies. He is also one of the comedians of Iranian cinema and television. He reached the peak of popularity and fame in the series Medical Center (2011) Directed by Sorush Sehhat.- Bijan Banafshekhah is known for Little Heroes (2017), Medical Center (2011) and The Devil's Dance (2001).
- Hushang Harirchiyan was born on 10 August 1932 in Iran, Isfahan. He is an actor, known for Eight Heavens (2012), Miracle of Love (2018) and Jafar Khan az farang bargashte (1985).
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Amin Hayai is an Iranian actor. He has received various accolades, including two Crystal Simorgh, three Hafez Awards and an Iran's Film Critics and Writers Association Honorary Diploma, in addition to nomination for an Iran Cinema Celebration Award. He started acting in theater along with his education. After finishing high school, he entered military service, and also acted in the art center of air force army. In 1991 he acted in a theatrical show for kids with the directorship of Soraya Ghasemi. It took him long to get a main acting role in movies, and he was successful in his first movie Eve's Red Apple. He has also won the best male actor award in Fajr film festival for the film by Rasoul Sadr-Ameli, "The Night", in 2008. Hayai appeared in the film Woodpecker in 2018. Hayai also will appear in the film We Like You Miss Yaya which he filmed in 2017. He was awarded the Diploma Honorary for Best Actor for Blazing at the Fajr Film Festival in 2018. In 2019, he became a judge in the first Iranian Talent Show called Asre Jadid Produced by Ehsan Alikhani.- Actor
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Dariush Arjmand was born in Mashhad, Iran, to a military father and a housewife mother. He grew up in Mashhad and started performing in plays at the age of 12. At the age of 26, he started working for the Ministry of Art and Culture. In the meantime, he earned his Bachelors in History and Sociology from Mashhad University in 1972 and his Masters in Theater and Cinema from the University of Paris in 1974. It is said that he studied under famed professor, Ali Shariati, while a student at Mashhad University. He was one of the founders of Mashhad's Open Cinema in the late 60s and started his film career as a writer and director of 8mm films of which "Hiss!" (Shhh!) is most notable. In 1983, he made his first 16mm film called, "Said, Come Under My Rule."
After many years of performing in theater, he started his film acting career by appearing in Nasser Taghvai's Captain Khorshid (1987) as the title character for which he was awarded the Crystal Simorgh for Best Actor in a Leading Role from Tehran's 5th Fajr International Film Festival. A few years later, he received nominations for the Crystal Simorgh from the 8th Fajr Film Festival for his performance as Harmas in The Searcher (1989). He has played different roles ever since, including legendary historical figures such as Amir Kabir (beloved Prime Minister of Iran from the mid 1800s) in Mohsen Makhmalbaf's Once Upon a Time, Cinema (1992) (Naser al-Din Shah, the Cinema Actor) Malek-e Ashtar (or Malik Al-Ashtar, one of the most loyal companions of Ali Ibn Abi Talib) and Abdol-Azim (a companion of Muhammad al-Taqi) in Davood Mir-Bagheri's The Martyr of Kufa (1997) and Traveller of Rey (2001) (Traveler to Rey) respectively, and Captain Soleiman (Iranian captain who created the maritime Silk Road) in The Maritime Silk Road (2011). He has also played many contemporary characters, mostly traditional Iranian men, although he made these characters of a similar social class different with his insightful performances. His performance as Esi Khan in Davood Mir-Bagheri's Snowman (1995) (Snowman) and Amir in Masud Kimiai's Protest (2000) is well praised and remembered. In 2000, he went back to his theater roots and played the main role in "Dandoon Tala" (The Golden Teeth) with his son, Amir Yal, as a father and son. The play marked his forth collaboration with director Davood Mir-Bagheri and became the highest grossing play in the history of Iranian theater. The same year, Fajr Film Festival named the festival in his honor with the slogan, "A man for all seasons" on its posters. Respectfully, he received a lifetime achievement award from the festival that year and received nomination for the Best Actor in a Lead Role for his memorable performance in Protest (2000). A year later, he won the Crystal Symorgh for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his short but powerful appearance in the role of Haji Naghdi in Bahram Beyzaie's Killing Mad Dogs (2001) from the 19th Fajr Film Festival. He also received awards and nomination from Iran's House of Cinema (guild for cinema professionals) and Writers and Critics Choice Award for his performance in "Protest" and "Killing Mad Dogs."
He is truly one of the most accomplished and well respected Iranian actors with a glowing body of work. He has worked with some of the best Iranian directors such as Masud Kimiai, Naser Taghvai, Bahram Beizai, Mohsen Makhmalbaf, Muhammad Bozorgnia, and Davood Mir-Bagheri. He has also worked as an art director and a TV host.- Actor
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Reza Kianian was born in Tehran on June 19, 1951. The second child in a family of 8 (he has 4 brothers and 2 sisters), he moved to the city of Mashhad with his family when he was 1 year old. His first acting coach was his brother Davood, whom arranged for him to act in his theatrical troupe for 3 years. After leaving his brother's group, Kianian started acting professionally in theatre groups around Iran. In 1972, he was accepted and completed his degree in acting at University of Tehran. Throughout his illustrious career, Kianian has worked with esteemed directors such as Bahman Farmanara, Massoud Kimiayi, Ebrahim Hatamikia and Saman Mogadam to name a few. Kianian married his wife of almost 30 years, Haydeh, on March 21 1983, on the Persian New Year. A painter and photographer and sculptor, Kianian splits his time between film projects and fine arts. His paintings and photos have sold in various national and international auctions as well as solo and group exhibitions in the more prestigious galleries. In June of 2012, Reza Kianian acted as the auctioneer for the Tehran Auction, the first ever auction-style event in Tehran. The Tehran Auction set a worldwide record by selling out, raising over a million dollars. Furthermore, Reza Kianian is the author of 9 books, winner of numerous awards and is considered to be one of the staples of Iranian Cinema.- Actor
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Majid Mozaffari was born on 11 February 1951 in Tehran, Iran. He is an actor and director, known for A Hero (2021), Paye Piyade (2011) and The Ship Angelica (1989).- Actor
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Masoud Rayegan is known for Berlin -7º (2013), The Accomplice (2020) and The Music Man (2007). He has been married to Roya Teymourian since 2003.- Actor
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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.- Manouchehr Azari is known for Nightingales (1988), Once Upon a Time in Tehran (1999) and The Shadow of Imagination (1991).
- Farhang Mehrparvar was born on 2 March 1946 in Tehran, Iran. He was an actor, known for Nightingales (1988), Atash-e penhan (1990) and The Extraordinary Journey (1990). He died in 1994 in Tehran, Iran.
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- Parviz Poorhosseini was an Iranian film, theater and television Actor 11 September 1941 - 27 November 2020 in Tehran, Iran. He died of COVID-19 at age 79, in Firoozgar Hospital in Tehran. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in performance arts from Tehran University's Faculty of Fine arts. Poorhosseini had appeared in more than 35 movies, over 70 TV shows and 60 theater performances.
- Mohamad Ali Keshavarz was born on 15 April 1930 in Isfahan, Iran. He was an actor, known for Chess of the Wind (1976), Wolves (1988) and The imperilled (1983). He was married to Mona Taheri. He died on 14 June 2020 in Tehran, Iran.
- Jahangir Forouhar is known for Nightingales (1988), The Story of Hearts (1969) and Dash Akol (1971).
- Akbar Doodkar was born on 25 September 1925 in Rasht, Iran. He was an actor, known for Waiting for Demon (1987), The Devil's Eye (1994) and Season Five (1997). He died on 23 July 2005 in Tehran, Iran.
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Bahram Beizai started skipping school from around the age of 17 in order to go to movies which were becoming popular in Iran at a rapid pace. This only fed his hunger to learn more about cinema and the visual arts. By 1961 he had already spent a lot of time studying-and researching- ancient persian and pre-Islamic culture and literature. This led him to studying Eastern Theatre and traditional Iranian theatre & arts which would help him formulate a new non-western identity for Iranian theatre. By 1961 he had already published numerous articles in various Arts and Literary Journals. In 1962 he made his first short film (4 minutes) in 8mm format. In the next two years he wrote several plays and published "Theatre in Japan". In 1971 he made his first feature film Ragbar ( Downpour ) which to this day remains one of the best Iranian films ever made.- Actor
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Vassilis Koukalani is known for Kandahar (2023), Amerika Square (2016) and Commandos and Dragons (2021).