Bahman Ghobadi facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Bahman Ghobadi
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| بهمن قبادی | |
Bahman Ghobadi at a press conference at San Sebastián Film Festival (2006)
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| Born | February 1, 1969 |
| Education | Iran Broadcasting University |
| Occupation | Director, producer, writer |
Bahman Ghobadi (Persian: بهمن قبادی; Kurdish: بههمهن قوبادی, romanized: Behmen Qubadî; born 1 February 1969) is an Iranian Kurdish film director, producer, and writer. He is known for being part of the "new wave" of Iranian cinema, which means he brought a fresh and artistic style to filmmaking in Iran.
Contents
About Bahman Ghobadi
His Early Life and Films
Bahman Ghobadi was born in Baneh, a Kurdish city in Iran. His family moved to Sanandaj in 1981. He studied film directing at Iran Broadcasting College. After working a bit in photography, Ghobadi started making short films using 8 mm film.
One of his early films, a documentary called Life in Fog, won many awards. He also worked as an assistant director for the famous filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami on his movie The Wind Will Carry Us.
Making Movies for Change
In 2000, Bahman Ghobadi started his own company called Mij Film. His goal was to make movies in Iran that showed the lives of different ethnic groups, especially the Kurdish people.
His first major film was A Time for Drunken Horses (2000). This was the first Kurdish film ever made in Iran. It was a big success and won the Caméra d'Or award at the famous Cannes Film Festival in France.
His next film, Marooned in Iraq (2002), won the Gold Plaque at the Chicago International Film Festival. In 2004, he made Turtles Can Fly, which won awards like the Glass Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival and the Golden Shell at the San Sebastian International Film Festival.
Key Films and Their Stories
In 2006, Ghobadi's film Half Moon also won the Golden Shell at the San Sebastian International Film Festival. This movie featured well-known Iranian actors like Golshifteh Farahani and Hedyeh Tehrani. The music was created by the famous Iranian musician Hossein Alizadeh. The film was made with help from Iran, France, Austria, and Iraq, and it was filmed in Iranian Kurdistan. It tells the story of Iranian Kurdish musicians who want to travel to Iraqi Kurdistan to hold a concert.
In 2006, an organization called Index on Censorship gave Ghobadi an award. They recognized him for his film Turtles Can Fly because it helped show the importance of freedom of expression.
In May 2009, his film No One Knows About Persian Cats won a special award at the Cannes Film Festival. This movie shows the difficulties young Iranian musicians face when they try to make music without being censored by the authorities.
In 2012, his film Rhino Season was released. For this movie, he worked with the international actress Monica Bellucci. Later, he directed a part of an anthology film called Words with Gods, where he directed the segment "Kaboki".
In 2015, he released a documentary called A Flag without a Country. This film, which first showed at the Sundance Film Festival, is about the Kurdish people, the war in the Middle East, and the idea of "Kurdistan." It highlights that the Kurdish people, with a population of about 45 million, still do not have their own country.
After this documentary, he went back to making fiction films and directed The Four Walls. This movie also featured actors from different countries, like Amir Aghaei, Funda Eryiğit, and Denizhan Akbaba.
Today, Bahman Ghobadi continues to write, direct, and produce films. He also actively supports human rights and freedom of speech around the world.
His Work as a Director
Here is a list of films Bahman Ghobadi has directed:
| Film | Date | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Golbaji | 1990 | short film |
| A Glance | 1990 | short film |
| Again Rain with Melody | 1995 | short film |
| Party | 1996 | short film |
| Like Mother | 1996 | short film |
| God's Fish | 1996 | short film |
| Notebook's Quote | 1996 | short film |
| Ding | 1996 | short film |
| Life in Fog | 1997 | short film |
| The Pigeon of Nader Flew | 1997 | short film |
| Telephone Booth | 1997 | short film |
| A Time for Drunken Horses | 2000 | feature film |
| Marooned in Iraq | 2002 | feature film |
| War is Over | 2003 | short film |
| Daf | 2003 | short film |
| Turtles Can Fly | 2004 | feature film |
| Half Moon | 2006 | feature film |
| No One Knows About Persian Cats | 2009 | feature film |
| Rhino Season | 2012 | feature film |
| Words with Gods, segment Kaboki | 2014 | feature film |
| A Flag without a Country | 2015 | documentary |
| The Four Walls | 2021 | feature film |
Other Roles in Film
Acting Roles
Ghobadi had a small role in the 2019 film The Irishman. He played a prison cook who serves Jimmy Hoffa an ice cream sundae. Even though Ghobadi doesn't usually enjoy acting, he said he took the role because he respected the famous directors Martin Scorsese and Al Pacino.
Film Festival Juries
Bahman Ghobadi has also been a jury member or even the head of the jury at many international film festivals. This means he helped decide which films won awards. Some of these festivals include:
- Busan International Film Festival in South Korea (2017)
- Off Plus Camera International Festival of Independent Cinema in Poland (2014)
- International Film Festival of Kerala (2009)
- Eurasia International Film Festival in Kazakhstan (2008)
- Sao Paolo International Film Festival (2006)
- Cannes International Film Festival (2002)
Standing Up for Human Rights
As a filmmaker who lives outside his home country, Bahman Ghobadi has started many campaigns to support freedom of speech and expression.
In 2021, he wrote a letter to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (the group that gives out the Oscars). He asked them to create a way for directors living in exile to submit their films for the Best International Film award.
He has also been very active on social media during the protests in Iran that followed the death of Mahsa Amini in September 2022. He shared information with the public and his followers about what was happening in Iran. He supported the Iranian people who were standing up for themselves against the government. He also wrote an open letter to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, asking the film industry to support the democratic cause of his people.
See also
In Spanish: Bahman Ghobadi para niños
