Granaz Moussavi facts for kids

Granaz Moussavi is an Iranian-Australian artist. She is a poet, film director, and screenwriter. She became known for her unique poetry in the 1990s.

Her first feature film, My Tehran for Sale (2009), was made with both Australian and Iranian teams. It became famous around the world. Her second film, When Pomegranates Howl, was nominated for a special award for youth films. It was also chosen to represent Australia at the 94th Academy Awards.

Early Life and Learning

Granaz was born in Tehran, Iran. Her father, Hashem Moussavi, was a well-known sound engineer for TV and movies. Her mother, Parvin Chegini Farahani, worked with videos.

Granaz went to school in Tehran. She loved cinema and theater very much. She decided to study drama instead of science. She took many acting classes in Tehran.

In 1997, Granaz and her family moved to Australia. There, she changed her focus from acting to filmmaking. In 2002, she made her honors film, A Short Film About Colour. This short film won her the best director award from Flinders University in Adelaide.

Writing and Filmmaking

Granaz started writing professionally at age 17. She reviewed books and wrote about literature for a magazine in Tehran.

Her first poems were published in 1989. Since then, she has kept writing and publishing poetry. Her poems have appeared in magazines and collections in Iran and other countries.

Granaz published her first book, Sketching On Night, in 1996. It was published secretly in Tehran and was very popular. Her second book, Barefoot Till Morning, won an award in 2001. She published her third collection, The Songs of the Forbidden Woman, in 2003.

Her poems have been collected in books worldwide. Some of her poems were published in France in two languages. Her poetry has been translated into French, English, Swedish, Spanish, Portuguese, and Kurdish.

Granaz also continued her film studies. She earned a degree in film editing in 2006. She also researched "The Aesthetics of Poetic Cinema" for her doctorate. She has made several short films and documentaries.

She has given many poetry readings around the world. These include events in Paris, London, Vienna, and Sydney. She also gave lectures at Stanford University and University of California at Irvine.

In 2006, Granaz won the Holding Redlich prize for her film idea. This prize helped her travel to the Cannes Film Festival in 2007. There, she presented her film project.

Her first feature film, My Tehran for Sale, was filmed in Tehran in 2008. Granaz wrote and directed it. This film was the first movie made together by Iran and Australia. It was shown at many important film festivals. These included the Adelaide Film Festival and the Toronto International Film Festival.

My Tehran for Sale won the Independent Spirit Inside Film Awards in 2009. It also won the jury award for best feature film at the TriMedia Film Festival in 2010.

Her film When Pomegranates Howl was nominated for the Best Youth Feature Film at the 14th Annual Asia Pacific Screen Awards.

Awards and Recognition

• Best Director Award, Flinders University, 2002
• Jury Award for Best Feature Film at the TriMedia Film Festival, 2010

Granaz Moussavi has also been a jury member for film festivals. These include the 60th International Filmfestival Mannheim-Heidelberg in Germany in 2011. She was also a jury member for the Independent Spirit IF Award in Australia in 2010.

Filmography

• 2020 When Pomegranates Howl
• 2008 My Tehran for Sale, a feature film (writer/director/producer)
• 2008 Into Pieces, a video art project
• 2007 Rats Sleep at Night, a short drama
• 2006 1001 Nights, a documentary about Persian poetry
• 2005 Narrative Theatre Workshop, a long video
• 2004 Just Tenants of the Earth, a documentary about young refugees
• 2004 A Slice Of Tehran Girls, a documentary about young girls in Tehran
• 2002 A Short Film About Colour, a short fiction film
• 2000 A Letter to a Friend, a short documentary
• 1999 The Restroom, a short doco-drama
• 1999 Smoke, a short advertisement

As Editor:

• 2006 Love On Track, a short drama
• 2005 Karma, an experimental short film
• 2005 Look Sharp, a drama film that won an award
• 2005 Rock! I gave you the best years of my life, a documentary
• 2003-2004 Turtles Can Fly, a feature film (on-set digital editing)

Books and Other Publications

• 1997 Sketching On Night, Tehran
• 2000 Barefoot Till Morning, Tehran (won an award in 2001)
• 2006 Les Rescapes De La Patience, France
• 2011 Red Memory, Australia
• 2012 Canto di Una Donna Senza Permesso, Italy