Growing Up With Gender Identity Disorder in Iran: Interview with Pooya Mohseni
By Fred Parvaneh
Mohseni is an Iranian-American actor, writer, and activist. A graduate of New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology and the Maggie Flanigan Studio, Pooya has had a string of lead, supporting and recurring...
Movie Shot Covertly in Iran, Smuggled Out Wins Sundance Festival’s Special Jury Award
By Kayhan Life Staff
An Iranian feature film shot covertly in Iran and smuggled out of the country has won a special jury award at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah.
Written, directed and produced by...
London’s SOAS University Plans Film Festival Honoring Director Bahman Maghsoudlou
By Katayoun Shahandeh
Bahman Maghsoudlou, the awardwinning Iranian filmmaker and author, is receiving a major tribute from the University of London’s School of African and Oriental Studies (SOAS): 13 of his films will feature in...
Iranian Films Win Awards At Venice Film Festival
By Ahmad Rafat
Iranian filmmakers and actors won three awards in the Horizons (Orizzonti) section of the Venice Film Festival earlier this month. The section runs parallel to the main festival competition.
Dominique Welinski and René...
Iranian-Born Actor Arsi Nami Stars in Award-Winning Short Film
By Julie Ershadi
Abbas Kiarostami isn’t the only Iranian who received praise in Cannes this year. Arsalan (Arsi) Nami, an Iranian-born artist, music therapist, and actor, is the star of "Love is Blind," a short...
Another Oscar for Iran? Farhadi’s ‘Salesman’ Is Nominated, But He’ll Skip the Awards
Asghar Farhadi became the first Iranian in history to win an Oscar: for his drama "A Separation," which took the prize for Best Foreign Language Film in 2012. He may win another Oscar this...
Afghan Rockers Meet Metallica In Award-Winning Iranian Movie
By Fred Parvaneh
"Radio Dreams," the award-winning film by Babak Jalali, had its LA premiere on May 7. Produced by Marjaneh Moghimi, the movie is centered around a quest by Kabul Dreams – Afghanistan's first...
Genius Mathematician Maryam Mirzakhani Is Remembered in Documentary: Interview
By Firoozeh Nordstrom
Maryam Mirzakhani was the first woman to win the world’s most prestigious mathematics prize, the Fields Medal. George Csicsery’s “Secrets of the Surface” is the first feature-length film about the life and...
A Portrait of My Mother: Filmmaker Massoumi Screens New Documentary
Trailer courtesy of Nariman Massoumi.
By Tara Biglari
The British-Iranian filmmaker Dr. Nariman Massoumi pays a moving tribute to his mother Manijeh in a half-hour documentary screened recently at London’s Royal Anthropological Institute.
“How do you see...
Jailed Iranian Filmmaker Jafar Panahi In Competition at Venice Film Festival
By Ahmad Rafat
The Venice International Film Festival turns 90 this year. Originally launched in 1932, it is the oldest international film festival in the world.
The 79th edition of the festival, organized by La Biennale...














