Aryana Farshad is a
writer
A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, p ...
,
director
Director may refer to:
Literature
* ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine
* ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker
* ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty
Music
* Director (band), an Irish rock band
* ''Di ...
, and
film producer
A film producer is a person who oversees film production. Either employed by a production company or working independently, producers plan and coordinate various aspects of film production, such as selecting the script, coordinating writing, di ...
born in
Tehran
Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...
, Iran.
Known for her documentary films on spirituality and mysticism, Farshad is an international film maker. She has been commissioned to make several films for different non-profit foundations in US, Iran, London, Turkey and India. Fluent in English, French &
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
, Farshad is the recipient of "Audience Favorite Award", "Telly Award", and "Davey Award". In addition, she received the ABU Award for editing a documentary film entitled "Immigrant Birds". Farshad is a still photographer and her work was exhibited at LACMA, and Einsen Gallery. Previously, Farshad worked at COLUMBIA and MGM.
Currently, Farshad lectures at major universities, museums, and various non-profit organizations. She has lectured at: The British Museum of Arts, LA County Museum of Arts, UC Berkeley, Stanford University, Fes Sacred Music Festival in Morocco, Parliament of the World Religions in Barcelona, and the Gene Siskel Film Center in Chicago. For her latest project "Longing for the Soul; A Quest for Rumi", she received a "Bijan & Soraya" Grant.
Filmed entirely in US, Iran, Turkey & Afghanistan.
Education and career
She moved to Paris and studied
French language
French ( or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. It descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire, as did all Romance languages. French evolved from Gallo-Romance, the Latin spoken in Gaul, and more specifically in Nor ...
and
literature
Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...
at
The Sorbonne
Sorbonne may refer to:
* Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities.
*the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970)
*one of its components or linked institution, ...
, prior to receiving her degree from the
Institut Des Hautes Etudes Cinematographiques in film production and editing. She returned to her native country of
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
for a few years where she worked with Iranian and western film makers. She moved to Los Angeles, attending
USC film department and later joined the Editor's Guild and worked for
Hollywood
Hollywood usually refers to:
* Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California
* Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States
Hollywood may also refer to:
Places United States
* Hollywood District (disambiguation)
* Hollywood, ...
studios, including
MGM Studios
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...
and
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...
in television post-production.
In 2000, she travelled back to her native country Iran and returned footage which was used in creating the documentary film ''Mystic Iran, the Unseen World''. Her second documentary film on Iran, ''Age of Awakening'', is narrated by
Omid Djalili
Omid Djalili ( fa, امید جلیلی; born 30 September 1965) is a British actor, comedian and writer.
Early life and education
Djalili was born on 30 September 1965 in Chelsea, London, to Iranian Baháʼí parents. He attended Holland Park ...
. ''Mystic Iran'' won the "Audience Favorite Award" at the 2008 Noor Film Festival.
Filmography
* Age of Awakening, is narrated by Omid Djalili.
Cesar winning French actress Fanny Ardent.
** Mystic Iran is narrated by Academy Award nominee Shohreh Aghdashloo, and
*1997 "Lymphoma Foundation"- by Women in Film.
*2001 "Title protected"; Full hour documentary film shot entirely in Iran.
*2003–2005 Age of Awakening"; Premiered at British Museum followed by LACMA along with several screenings at various universities throughout the United States.
*2003 "Encyclopedia Iranica"; Short Corporate Film.
*2000–2002 "Mystic Iran" (2002): Full hour documentary film shot entirely in Iran. World premiere broadcast on US PBS Channels as well as 500+ international television channels. Kevin Thomas at Los Angeles Times: "An exemplary documentary...beautiful, stirring film", Mare Mazer at KCET: "A stunning look at a culture few westerners understand.
*2006–2007 "Myths & Kings"; Unfinished project.
*2007 "A Time to Reconcile". Parker Media.
*2010–2012 "Title protected". Full hour documentary film; Commissioned by “ Hady, LLC".
*2012 Short documentary film; Commissioned by "Arasteh Foundation".
*2013 40 minute documentary film on "Spirit of India" (currently in post.)
*2013-2015 "Longing for the Soul"- Feature-length documentary film based on the legacy of Persian mystic poet, RUMI. The Project received partial funding from the "Bijan & Soraya" Grant.
Awards
*April 2008 Audience Choice Award for ''Mystic Iran'' at Noor Iranian Film Festival The Noor Iranian Film Festival is an annual film festival held in Los Angeles, California, founded by cultural producer Siamak Ghahremani and co-founder Anthony Azizi in 2007. The festival's namesake comes from the word Nur, also spelled Noor, mea ...
[
]
References
General references
Iran Heritage Foundation
(December 2007) Cover story: Aryana Farshad – Her journey through the 'unseen world'.
''Mystic Iran, The Unseen World'' to screen at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art
"PSA Poetry group will have a screening of the much anticipated documentary by Aryana Farshad called "Mystic Iran, The Unseen World"
Spirituality & Practice
Film Review By Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Mystic Iran – The Unseen World
Asia Society
Mystic Iran: The Unseen World
{{DEFAULTSORT:Farshad, Aryana
Living people
Iranian film producers
Iranian film directors
USC School of Cinematic Arts alumni
Year of birth missing (living people)