Boshra Dastournezhad (
née
A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...
Boshra Dastournezhad Haghighi; born 1985)
is an Iranian model and actress. She appeared in the 2006 film ''
Radio Dreams''.
Early life
Boshra Dastournezhad Haghighi was born in 1985 in
Shiraz into a family of
Baháʼí faith,
as the daughter of Mehran Dastournezhad Haghighi and Fariba Vesali. She is the granddaughter of Abdosamad Dastournezhad Haghighi and Parvin Samandari (Agah). At age 12, Dastournezhad started modeling for her aunt, Shabnam Dastournezhad Haghighi, a professional painter in
Ottawa
Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...
,
which led her towards a career in modeling.
She studied children's literature and theatre at
Baháʼí Institute for Higher Education (also known as BIHE University).
Career
Dastournezhad started modeling professionally in Turkey in 2009. Since she has modeled for several local and national campaigns. In 2012, her modeling endeavors took her to the United States. While in the United States, she had several jobs that helped to propel her career.
In 2014, during a trip to Seattle, she was recorded reciting an original poem, "Oral B" in her native language of
Persian.
It was posted to Facebook and received over 16,000 shares, catching the attention of , a prominent
Iranian-
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
film producer.
After a brief conversation, Dastournezhad was cast as "Maral" in the film ''Radio Dreams'' (2016), by film director
Babak Jalali
Babak Jalali ( fa, بابک جلالی) is an Iranian film director and producer, notably directing ''Radio Dreams'', for which he won the Hivos Tiger Award at the 45th International Film Festival Rotterdam.
Early life
Jalali was born in Iran an ...
.
For her stage debut, she played the male character "Prince Manouchehr" in the play ''Zohreh and Manouchehr'' in
Santa Monica, working alongside
Shahrokh Moshkin Ghalam.
Dastournezhad was a leading member in the play ''Khale Sooske'' (English: ''Auntie Cockroach''),
which travelled to Los Angeles and San Francisco.
Reception
Writing in
''Variety'', critic Catherine Bray called her performance "a standout among the supporting players, sketching the financially astute daughter of the station owner with Aubrey Plaza levels of deadpan misanthropy."
Neil Young of ''
The Hollywood Reporter'' described the film as "Presenting a nuanced, intelligent and consistently droll take on hot-button subjects of immigration, identity and cultural assimilation..." and that it "stand
comparison with the finest radio-themed enterprises of the current century..."
Writing in ''
Variety'', critic Catherine Bray called the film a "quietly satisfying gem..." and a "deserving Tiger competition winner at Rotterdam...".
Awards and nominations
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dastournezhad, Boshra
1985 births
Living people
Actors from Shiraz
Iranian female models
Iranian Bahá'ís
Iranian stage actresses
Iranian film actresses