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, p ...

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 continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

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 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

to study acting and directing. He graduated from the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

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 '' ostād'' ("master") of Persian letters, arts and Iranian studies ...

'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 Rey, ...

'' (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 re ...

and

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 ...

). Farmanara moved to

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 tot ...

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 List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

. 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'', 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 Rey, ...

'', 1976 * ''The Divine One (Malakout) by Khosrow Haritash'', 1976 * ''

The Chess Game of the Wind ''Chess of the Wind'' ( fa, شطرنج باد, Shatranj-e Baad) also titled ''The Chess Game of the Wind'' is a 1976 Iranian film written and directed by Mohammad Reza Aslani. This film was screened only once before the 1979 revolution in Iran a ...

(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

'', 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'', 2000 *''

No Choice ''No Choice'' (Persian: مجبوریم‎, romanized: ''Majburim'') is a 2020 Iranian drama film directed, written and produced by Reza Dormishian. The film screened for the first time at the 33rd Tokyo International Film Festival. Synopsis T ...

'', 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.

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 Disc ...

'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