Farrokh Ghaffari ( fa, فرخ غفاری, 26 February 1922 – 17 December 2006) was an Iranian film director, actor, critic and author. Along with

Ebrahim Golestan Ebrahim Golestan ( fa, , born 19 October 1922) is an Iranian filmmaker and literary figure with a career spanning half a century. He has lived in Sussex, United Kingdom, since 1975. He was closely associated with the eminent Iranian poet Forou ...

and

Fereydoun Rahnema Fereydoun Rahnema ( fa, فریدون رهنما; 1930 – 1975) was an Iranian film director and poet. He is most known for his 1960 short film, ''Takht-e Jamshid'' (''Persepolis''), and his feature film, ''Siavash dar Takht-e Jamshid'' (''Siavas ...

he was one of the founders of Iran's New Wave film movement. By establishing the first National Iranian Film Society in 1949 at the Iran Bastan Museum and organizing the first Film Week during which English films were exhibited, Ghaffari laid the foundation for alternative and non-commercial films in Iran.

Early life

Ghaffari was 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 ...

, but was educated in

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

and at the

University of Grenoble The Université Grenoble Alpes (UGA, French: meaning "''Grenoble Alps University''") is a public research university in Grenoble, France. Founded in 1339, it is the third largest university in France with about 60,000 students and over 3,000 resea ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. In 1958, Ghaffari made one of the first neorealist films in

Iranian cinema The Cinema of Iran (Persian: سینمای ایران), also known as the Cinema of Persia, refers to the cinema and film industries in Iran which produce a variety of commercial films annually. Iranian art films have garnered international fame a ...

, ''Jonoub-e Shahr'' (''South of the City''). Because of its depictions of working class poverty the film was banned by the

Shah Shah (; fa, شاه, , ) is a royal title that was historically used by the leading figures of Iranian monarchies.Yarshater, EhsaPersia or Iran, Persian or Farsi, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII no. 1 (1989) It was also used by a variety of ...

's government, who feared the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

would use it as a propaganda tool to show the distressed economic condition of Iran's lower classes. In 1963, a heavily edited version of the film entitled ''Reghabat Dar Shahr'' (''Urban Rivalry'') was finally released. In 1964, he produced and directed his next film ''Shab-e Quzi'' (''Night of the Hunchback''). Based on ''

One Thousand and One Nights ''One Thousand and One Nights'' ( ar, أَلْفُ لَيْلَةٍ وَلَيْلَةٌ, italic=yes, ) is a collection of Middle Eastern folk tales compiled in Arabic during the Islamic Golden Age. It is often known in English as the ''Arabian ...

'', the film was originally set during the time of Caliph

Harun al-Rashid Abu Ja'far Harun ibn Muhammad al-Mahdi ( ar , أبو جعفر هارون ابن محمد المهدي) or Harun ibn al-Mahdi (; or 766 – 24 March 809), famously known as Harun al-Rashid ( ar, هَارُون الرَشِيد, translit=Hārūn ...

but was changed to contemporary times because of censor objections. ''Shab-e Quzi'' is a

black comedy Black comedy, also known as dark comedy, morbid humor, or gallows humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally considered serious or painful to discus ...

about smugglers who try to hide the body of a dead hunchback who is left on their doorstep. The film starred Ghaffari and

Mohammad-Ali Keshavarz Mohamad-Ali Keshavarz ( fa, محمدعلی کشاورز; April 15, 1930 – June 14, 2020) was an Iranian cinema and theater actor. Early life He was born on 15 April 1930 in Sichan (neighbourhood), Isfahan. He was the second child of the family ...

in his film debut. Ghaffari worked for National Iranian Television during this time. In 1975, Ghaffari released his final film ''Zanbourak'' (''The Running Canon'') starring

Parviz Sayyad Parviz Sayyad ( fa, پرویز صیاد, Parviz Sayyād; born 22 March 1939) is an Iranian-born American celebrated actor, director, translator, and screenwriter of Iranian cinema. He was one of the earliest television stars in Iran. Early life ...

and Shahnaz Tehrani. In 1979 with the onslaught of the

Iranian Revolution The Iranian Revolution ( fa, انقلاب ایران, Enqelâb-e Irân, ), also known as the Islamic Revolution ( fa, انقلاب اسلامی, Enqelâb-e Eslâmī), was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynas ...

, Ghaffari moved to Paris, where he worked as a film critic for the magazine '' Positif''. He lived in exile in Paris until his death in 2006.

Filmography

Feature films

* 1958: ''Jonoub-e Shahr'' (South of the City) * 1960 ''ArusKodumeh?'' (Who is the Bride?) * 1965: ''

Shabe Quzi ''Night of the Hunchback'' ( fa, شب قوزی, translit=Shab-e Quzi) is a 1965 Iranian film comedy, directed and produced by Farrokh Ghaffari. The film script was based on a story from One Thousand and One Nights, but arranged for modern city life ...

'' (Night of the Hunchback) * 1975: '' Zanbourak'' (The Running Canon) *''Mard-e Kerayei'' (Rent Man) (unfinished)

Documentaries

*''Siman-eTehran Norouzeman'' (Our New Year) *''Daryaye Pars'' (Persian Gulf) *''Zendegi Naft'' (Oil and Life) *''Vezarat Sanaye Va Maaden'' (Ministry of Industry and Mines)

References

External links

*
His ancestral website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ghaffari, Farrokh Iranian film directors 1922 births 2006 deaths Iranian film critics Iranian screenwriters Iranian male film actors People from Tehran Commandeurs of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres 20th-century screenwriters Iranian expatriates in Belgium Iranian expatriates in France