Bahman Ghobadi | |
|---|---|
بهمن قبادی | |
 Bahman Ghobadi at a press conference atSan Sebastián Film Festival (2006) | |
| Born | (1969-02-01)February 1, 1969 (age 56) |
| Education | Iran Broadcasting University |
| Occupation(s) | Film director, producer, writer |
| Years active | 1990–present |
| Era | Iranian New Wave |
| Organization | Mij Film |
| Known for | A Time for Drunken Horses,Turtles Can Fly,Half Moon,No One Knows About Persian Cats |
| Style | Drama, social issues |
| Movement | Iranian New Wave |
| Awards | Caméra d'Or,Golden Shell,Un Certain Regard |
| Website | http://www.mijfilm.com |
Bahman Ghobadi (Persian:بهمن قبادی;Kurdish:بههمهن قوبادی,romanized: Behmen Qubadî; born February 1, 1969) is anIranian Kurdish film director, producer and writer. He belongs to the "new wave" ofIranian cinema.[1][2]
He was born inBaneh, aKurdish city inIran. His family moved toSanandaj in 1981. Ghobadi received a Bachelor of Arts in film directing fromIran Broadcasting College. After a brief career in industrial photography, Ghobadi began making short8 mm films. His documentaryLife in Fog won numerous awards. Bahman Ghobadi was assistant director onAbbas Kiarostami'sThe Wind Will Carry Us.[3]
Bahman Ghobadi founded Mij Film in 2000, a company with the aim of production of films in Iran about its different ethnic groups. His first feature film wasA Time for Drunken Horses (2000), the first Kurdish film produced in Iran.[4] The film won theCaméra d'Or at theCannes Film Festival. His second feature wasMarooned in Iraq (2002), which brought him the Gold Plaque from theChicago International Film Festival. His third feature,Turtles Can Fly, followed in 2004, winning the Glass Bear and Peace Film Award at theBerlin International Film Festival and the Golden Shell at theSan Sebastian International Film Festival.[5]
In 2006, Ghobadi'sHalf Moon won the Golden Shell at the San Sebastian International Film Festival. Iran's renowned actorsGolshifteh Farahani, Hassan Poorshirazi andHedyeh Tehrani acted in this movie. The music of the movie was made by Iran's musicianHossein Alizadeh. The film, which was a collaborative project by Iran, France, Austria and Iraq, was shot fully in Iranian Kurdistan. However, it narrates the story of a group of Iranian Kurdish musicians who would like to travel toIraqi Kurdistan and organize a concert there.[6]
In 2006,Index on Censorship gave Ghobadi an Index Film Award for making a significant contribution to freedom of expression through his filmTurtles Can Fly.[7]
In May 2009, his filmNo One Knows About Persian Cats won anUn Certain Regard Special Jury Prize ex-aequo when it premiered at the Cannes Film Festival. This film chronicles the hardships facing young Iranian musicians seeking to evade censorship.
In 2012, his next filmRhino Season was released atSan Sebastian Film Festival. In this film he worked withMonica Belluci and combined an international cast.
Following critical success of this film, he also took part as one of the directors in anthology filmWords with Gods directing the segment Kaboki.
In 2015, his feature documentaryA Flag without a Country was released. The documentary that premiered atSundance Film Festival is about Kurds, middle-east war and "Kurdistan", a nation with about 45m population and still without a country.
Following this documentary, he got back on fiction and directedThe Four Walls in which he again assembled an international cast featuringAmir Aghaee,Funda Eryiğit andDenizhan Akbaba.
He is currently writing, directing, and producing, and actively participating in supporting human rights and freedom of speech all around the world.
| Film | Date | |
|---|---|---|
| Golbaji | 1990 | short film |
| A Glance | 1990 | short film |
| Again Rain with Melody | 1995 | short film |
| Party | 1996 | short film |
| Like Mother | 1996 | short film |
| God's Fish | 1996 | short film |
| Notebook's Quote | 1996 | short film |
| Ding | 1996 | short film |
| Life in Fog | 1997 | short film |
| The Pigeon of Nader Flew | 1997 | short film |
| Telephone Booth | 1997 | short film |
| A Time for Drunken Horses | 2000 | feature film |
| Marooned in Iraq | 2002 | feature film |
| War is Over | 2003 | short film |
| Daf | 2003 | short film |
| Turtles Can Fly | 2004 | feature film |
| Half Moon | 2006 | feature film |
| No One Knows About Persian Cats | 2009 | feature film |
| Rhino Season | 2012 | feature film |
| Words with Gods, segment Kaboki | 2014 | feature film |
| A Flag without a Country | 2015 | documentary |
| The Four Walls | 2021 | feature film |
Ghobadi made a cameo appearance in the 2019 filmThe Irishman, where he portrayed a prison cook who servesJimmy Hoffa anice cream sundae. While Ghobadi does not enjoy acting, he says he appeared in the film out of respect forMartin Scorsese andAl Pacino.
Ghobadi has served as jury president or jury member in many international festivals.[8]
Ghobadi, as an exile filmmaker, started many campaigns for freedom of speech and freedom of expression. In 2021, he wrote a letter to theAcademy of Motion Pictures Arts and Science to create an initiative to give exile directors possibility to submit their work for best International Film category.[9]
He has also played an important role on social media during the protests in Iran following the event of Mahsa Amini's death in September 2022. He informed public and followers about the incidents happening in Iran, supporting the cause of Iranian people standing for themselves and against oppressive Iranian regime. He has also written an open letter toAcademy of Motion Picture Arts and Science to invite the film industry to support the democratic cause of his people.[10]
