Bahman Farmanara ( fa, بهمن فرمانآرا, Bahman Farmānārā; born 23 January 1942) is an Iranian
film director
A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, ...
,
screenwriter
A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based.
...
, 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 ...
.
Bahman Farmanara is the second son in a family of four brothers and one sister. The family business was Textile and he was the only son who did not join the business and went off to the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
and later on to the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...
to study acting and directing. He graduated from the
University of Southern California
, mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it"
, religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist
, established =
, accreditation = WSCUC
, type = Private research university
, academic_affiliations =
, endowment = $8. ...
with a BA in Cinema in 1966. After returning to Iran and doing military service, he joined the
National Iranian Radio and Television
National Iranian Radio and Television, or NIRT for short, ( fa, رادیو تلویزیون ملی ایران, ''Radio-ye Telâvisiun-e Mili-ye 'Iran'') was the first Iranian state broadcaster, which was established on June 19, 1971, following the ...
.
Works
He produced some major films, including
Abbas Kiarostami
Abbas Kiarostami ( fa, عباس کیارستمی ; 22 June 1940 – 4 July 2016) was an Iranian film director, screenwriter, poet, photographer, and film producer. An active filmmaker from 1970, Kiarostami had been involved in the production of ...
's first feature, ''
The Report'' (1977),
Bahram Bayzai
Bahrām Beyzāêi (also spelt Beizāi, Beyzāêi, fa, بهرام بیضائی; born 26 December 1938) is an Iranian playwright, theatre director, screenwriter, film editor, and ''ostad, ostād'' ("master") of Persian letters, arts and Iranian s ...
's ''
The Crow
The Crow is a supernatural superhero comic book series created by James O'Barr revolving around the titular character of the same name. The series, which was originally created by O'Barr as a means of dealing with the death of his fiancée at t ...
'' (1977),
Khosrow Haritash's ''Divine One'' (1976), Mohammad-Reza Aslani's ''Wind and Chess'' (1976) and
Valerio Zurlini
Valerio Zurlini (19 March 1926 – 26 October 1982) was an Italian film director, stage director and screenwriter.
Biography
During his law studies in Rome, he started working in the theatre. In 1943, he joined the Italian resistance. Zurlin ...
's ''
The Desert of the Tartars
''The Desert of the Tartars'' ( it, Il deserto dei Tartari) is a 1976 Italian film by director Valerio Zurlini with an international cast including Jacques Perrin, Vittorio Gassman, Max von Sydow, Francisco Rabal, Philippe Noiret, Fernando ...
'' (1977 co-production with
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
and
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...
).
Farmanara moved to
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...
and then to
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...
in 1980, establishing a distribution company and a film festival for children and young adults in
Vancouver
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. Th ...
. He returned to Iran in the mid-1980s.
He made and starred in ''
Fragrance of Jasmine'' in 2000, which won several prizes from the
International Fajr Film Festival, including The Best Film and The Best Director awards.
Politics
On May 10, 2013, Farmanara signed up to run for the office of President of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Selected filmography
Director
* ''The House of Qamar Khanoom'', 1972
* ''Prince Ehtedjab'', 1974
* ''The Tall Shadows of the Wind'', 1978
* ''
Smell of Camphor, Scent of Jasmine
''Smell of Camphor, Fragrance of Jasmine'', or ''Booye Kafoor, Atre Yas'' ( fa, بوی کافور، عطر ياس), is an Iranian film written by, directed by and starring Bahman Farmanara. It was his first contribution to Iranian cinema
The Ci ...
'', 2000
* ''
A House Built on Water'', 2001
* ''
A Little Kiss
"A Little Kiss" is the two-part fifth season premiere of the American television drama series ''Mad Men''. Officially counted as the first two episodes of the season, it figures as the 53rd and 54th overall episodes of the series. It was writte ...
'', 2005 (''A Teensy Kiss'' would be a better translation of the Persian title ''Yek Bus-e Ku'chu'lu'')
* ''The Familiar Soil'', 2008
*''I Want to Dance'', 2014
*''Tale of The Sea'', 2018
Producer
* ''
The Desert of The Tartars
''The Desert of the Tartars'' ( it, Il deserto dei Tartari) is a 1976 Italian film by director Valerio Zurlini with an international cast including Jacques Perrin, Vittorio Gassman, Max von Sydow, Francisco Rabal, Philippe Noiret, Fernando ...
by
Valerio Zurlini
Valerio Zurlini (19 March 1926 – 26 October 1982) was an Italian film director, stage director and screenwriter.
Biography
During his law studies in Rome, he started working in the theatre. In 1943, he joined the Italian resistance. Zurlin ...
'', 1976
* ''The Divine One (Malakout) by
Khosrow Haritash'', 1976
* ''
The Chess Game of the Wind (Shatranj Baad) by M.R. Aslani'', 1976
* ''The Crow (Kalagh) by
Bahram Beyzai
Bahrām Beyzāêi (also spelt Beizāi, Beyzāêi, fa, بهرام بیضائی; born 26 December 1938) is an Iranian playwright, theatre director, screenwriter, film editor, and '' ostād'' ("master") of Persian letters, arts and Iranian studie ...
i'', 1977
* ''The Report (
Gozaresh) by
Abbas Kiarostami
Abbas Kiarostami ( fa, عباس کیارستمی ; 22 June 1940 – 4 July 2016) was an Iranian film director, screenwriter, poet, photographer, and film producer. An active filmmaker from 1970, Kiarostami had been involved in the production of ...
'', 1977
* ''The Night Never Ends (
Dar Emtedad Shab) by
Parviz Sayad'', 1978
* ''Tall Shadows Of The wind (Saye Haye Bolnd-e Baad)'', 1978
* ''
Leolo by
Jean Claude Lauzon'', 1990
* ''
A House Built on Water (Khane'i Rooye Aab)'', 2002
Writer
* ''Prince Ehtedjab'', co-writer with
Houshang Golshiri
Houshang Golshiri ( fa, هوشنگ گلشیری; March 16, 1938''A Hundred Years of Storytelling in Iran'', Amir Abedini, p. 274. – June 5, 2000) was an Iranian fiction writer, critic and editor. He was one of the first Iranian writers to ...
Based on Golshiri's Novel by The Same Name, 1974
* ''Tall Shadows of the Wind'', co-writer with Houshang Golshiri, based on his short story "The First Innocent", 1979
* ''Smell of Camphor, Fragrance of Jasmine Original Script'', 2000
* ''A House Built on Water Original Script'', 2002
* ''A Little Kiss'', 2005
* ''A Passage to Darkness Original script''
Documentary films
* ''Norouz va Khaviar'', 1969
* ''Tehran-e Now va Kohneh'', 1970
Television
* ''From 1968 to 1971 Over 150 Weekly Programs on Current Cinema as Producer and Anchor''
Actor
*''
Smell of Camphor, Scent of Jasmine
''Smell of Camphor, Fragrance of Jasmine'', or ''Booye Kafoor, Atre Yas'' ( fa, بوی کافور، عطر ياس), is an Iranian film written by, directed by and starring Bahman Farmanara. It was his first contribution to Iranian cinema
The Ci ...
'', 2000
*''
No Choice'', 2020
Awards

*''PRINCE EHTEJAB''
Grand Prix For Best Film In 3rd
Tehran International Film Festival 1976.
*''SMELL OF CAMPHOR, FRAGRANCE OF JASMINE
8 Awards at
Fajr International Film Festival
Iran's annual Fajr International Film Festival ( fa, جشنواره بینالمللی فیلم فجر), or Fajr Film Festival (little: FIFF; fa, جشنواره فیلم فجر), has been held every February and April in Tehran since 1982. T ...
, Including Best Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Music, Best Supporting Actress Best Art Direction, Best Make Up, Special Jury Prize For Best Film Montreal International Film Festival 2000. Golden Tulip Grand Prix As Best Film at Istanbul International Film Festival 2001.
*''A HOUSE BUILT ON WATER''
Winner of 5 Awards at Fajr International Film Festival, Including Best Film,Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, and Best Art Direction.
See also
*
List of Iranian films of the 2000s
*
Ahmad Pejman
Ahmad Pejman ( fa, احمد پژمان ; born 1935), also spelled as Ahmad Pezhman, is an Iranian classical composer who resides in the United States. Pejman is notable for his operatic and symphonic works.
Biography
Born in 1935 in Lar, Ir ...
*
Houshang Golshiri
Houshang Golshiri ( fa, هوشنگ گلشیری; March 16, 1938''A Hundred Years of Storytelling in Iran'', Amir Abedini, p. 274. – June 5, 2000) was an Iranian fiction writer, critic and editor. He was one of the first Iranian writers to ...
References
*https://web.archive.org/web/20070820222144/http://www.bahmanfarmanara.com/home.htm
*https://web.archive.org/web/20081004043436/http://www.movie-vault.com/reviews/thsnqidyXYelHduC
*http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0267715/
External links
*
*
His interview on May 3, 2001 by NPR's "Fresh Air" with Terry Gross* ''New Yorker Films Presents: Smell of Camphor, Fragrance of Jasmine'', Official Selection 2000, New York Film Festival
PDF Contains also a reproduction of
Hamid Dabashi
Hamid Dabashi ( fa, حمید دباشی; born 1951) is an Iranian-American professor of Iranian Studies and Comparative Literature at Columbia University in New York City.
He is the author of over twenty books. Among them are ''Theology of ...
's ''Bahman Farmanara: Twice Upon a Time''.
Bahman Farmanara's Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Farmanara, Bahman
Iranian film directors
Iranian film producers
Iranian screenwriters
People from Tehran
1942 births
Living people
Crystal Simorgh for Best Director winners
Producers who won the Best Film Crystal Simorgh