Film scholar, author, critic, and director Bahman Maghsoudlou is the recipient of Iran’s prestigious Forough Farrokhzad literary award (1353-1975) for writing and editing a series of books about cinema and theater. These include the acclaimed Iranian Cinema, (NYU, 1987) and Grass: Untold Stories (Mazda,2008), a definitive account of the making of Grass: A Nation’s Battle for Life, the groundbreaking documentary filmed by Merian Cooper, Ernest Schoedsack and Marguerite Harrison in Iran in 1924. His most recent books in Farsi are When the Clouds Did Not Hide the Moon (NY: IFVC,2020) and The Poetic Realism of Jean Renoir (Tehran: Hekmatkalame,2021). His last book is Charmed by the Silver Screen: The World Cinema (Tehran, Damon,2023).
He has produced more than twenty films, as well as writing, directing, and producing ten documentaries. His first short documentary, Ardeshir Mohasses and His Caricatures was released in 1972, and later screened at the Leipzig Film Festival in 1996. In the USA, he created the Renowned Iranian Artists series, which includes such films as Ahmad Mahmoud: a Noble Novelist (2004), Iran Darroudi: the Painter of Ethereal Moments (2010), and Ardeshir Mohasses: The Rebellious Artist (2012), an extended update of his original film about Mohasses. The last one is Najaf Daryabandari: A Window on the World (2020), screened at Mesa Film Fest 2021.
As a film historian, he has so far written, produced, and directed four entries in the History of Iranian Cinema series: Abbas Kiarostami: A Report (2013), which premiered at the Montreal World Film festival, Razor’s Edge: The Legacy of Iranian Actresses (2016), Bahram Beyzaie: A Mosaic of Metaphors (2019) and Dariush Mehrjui: Making the Cow (2022).
His films have been selected for more than 100 major film festivals and garnered many awards. These include The Suitors (Cannes, 1988), Manhattan by Numbers (Venice, Toronto, London, Chicago, 1993), Seven Servants, with legendary actor Anthony Quinn (Locarno, Montréal, Toronto, 1996), Life in Fog (1998), the single most awarded short documentary film in the history of Iranian Cinema, and Silence of the Sea, winner of six prizes and a selection for more than 20 other film festivals, including the Sundance Film Festival in 2004.
Maghsoudlou’s activities involving international cinema further include participation as a panelist, juror, and lecturer at a wide variety of film festivals in Russia, Italy, the USA, Canada and Iran. He also served as president of the jury at the 2012 Ibn Arabi Film Festival (IBAFF) in Spain and the Montreal World Film Festival, 2014.
Having organized the first-ever Iranian Film Festival in New York in 1980, he originated the International Short Film Festival: Independent Films in Iran, which was held in October 2007 at the Asia Society in New York.
A graduate in cinema studies from the City University of New York with a PhD from Columbia, Maghsoudlou lives in New York. He is a member of the PEN American center.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bahman_Maghsoudlou
https://fa.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/بهمن_مقصودلو
Bahman Maghsoudlou: Short Bio
Bahman Maghsoudlou: Filmography
Shorts
1- Ardeshir Mohasses & His Caricatures
(W/D/P, Documentary, Iran, 20 min., 1972).
-Shown at various film festivals, including the 1996 Leipzig Film Festival.
2- Life in Fog (Zendegi Dar Meh)
Dir: Bahman Ghobadi
(Executive Producer, Documentary, 28 min. Iran /USA, 1998).
-Featured in more than thirty international film festivals throughout 1999-2000, including Clermont-Ferrand, Winner of fifteen international awards, this film is the most awarded short/documentary film in the history of Iranian Cinema.
3-The Other Side of the Broken Wall
Dir: Behrouz Maghsoudlou
(Producer, Fiction, Iran/USA, 2006)
-Selected for International Short Film Festival: Independent Films on Iran, NY, 2007
4-SmoQing
Dir: Daryush Shokof
(Producer, Fiction, Germany/USA, 2007)
-Selected for International Short Film Festival: Independent Films on Iran, NY, 2007
Features
As producer
1- Manhattan by Numbers
Dir: Amir Naderi
(Executive Producer, USA, 1993).
-Premiered at New Films/New Directors at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, 1993. Also, Venice, San Sebastian, London, Toronto, Chicago, Thessaloniki, Montreal, Cairo,
2- Seven Servants
Dir: Daryush Shokof
(Producer, Germany/USA, 1996).
- Premiered at the Locarno Film Festival (Grand Pizza) 1996. Also Toronto, Kiev,
Thessaloniki, Montreal, Cairo, India, etc.
3-Ahmad Shamlou: Master Poet of Liberty
(Producer, Iran/USA, 1998).
-Selected for MESA ‘1999 (The Middle East Studies Association of North America) SIRA 2000, ISIS 2000, Iranian Diaspora Film Festival in New York, 2002.
4- Surviving Paradise
Dir: Kamshad Kushan
(Producer, USA, 1999).
-Premiered at the Cairo International Film Festival and International Film Festival of India, New Delhi.
5-Ta’zieh in Another Narration
Dir: Parviz Jahed
(EP, Documentary, Iran/USA, 2001).
- Premiered in New York at the NYU Arab/Iranian Film Festival, 2001. CIRA, MESA 2001, ISIS 2002, the Popoli Film Festival, Italy 2003, and the Tiburon Film Festival, USA, 2004.
6- Silence of the Sea
Dir; Vahid Mousaian
(P/EP, Iran/USA, 2003).
-Selected for more then twenty international film festivals, including Sundance 2004. Winner of Ecumenical Prize at the Mannheim Film Festival 2003, Best Film and Best Screenplay at the Croatia Film Festival 2004, and Best Music at the Asian/Pacific Film Festival.
7-Asudem
Dir: Daryush Shokof
(Associate Producer, Germany/USA, 2007)
Director/Writer/Producer
All are Documentaries.
1-Ahmad Mahmoud: A Noble Novelist
W/D/P, 55 min. Iran/USA, 2004.
-Premiered at the Berlin Asian Pacific Film Festival, 2004
-MESA Film Festival, 2004
-The 15th Annual Celebration of Iranian Cinema, UCLA Film & Television Archive Film Festival, USA, 2005.
7-Najaf Daryabandari; A Window on the World
W/D/P, 25 Min. Iran/USA,2020
-MESA Film Festival, 2020
2-Iran Darroudi: The Painter of Ethereal Moments
D/P, 54 min., Iran/France/USA, 2010
-Leipzig Film Festival, Germany, 2010
-Ibn Arabi, Spain, Film Festival, 2011
3-Ardeshir Mohasses: The Rebellious Artist
D/W/P, 59 min. Iran/USA, 2012
-Selected for the Palm Beach Film Festival, 2013
-Selected for MESA Film Festival, 2013
History of Iranian Cinema Four Parts:
1-Abbas Kiarostami: A Report
W/D/P, 88 min. Iran/USA, 2013
-World Premier, Montreal World Film Festival, 2013
-EPOS, the International Art Film Festival, 2014
-Iranian San Francesco Film Festival, 2014
-Cineteca Natinonale, Rome, Italy, 2014
-MESA (Middle East Studies Association) Film Festival, Washington DC, 2014
-So Much to Teach Us: Kiarostami Films Iran, with 8 films By Kiarostami
The Indiana University Cinema, 2014
-Cineteca Nationale, Rome, Italy, 2014
- Anthropology and Films: Ways of Seeing, Boston University, 2015
-Tirgan Festival, Toronto, 2015
-Tirana International Film Festival, 2016
-Retrospective of Abbas Kiarostami, George Pompidou Center, Paris, France ,2021
- Festival International DU Film D’Histoire, Pessac, France, 2021
2-Razor’s Edge: The Legacy of Iranian Actresses
W/D/P, 107 min. Iran/USA, 2016
-World Premier, Montreal World Film Festival, 2016
-MESA Film Festival, Washington DC, 2016
-Festival International DU Film D’Histoire, (Competition) Pessac, France, 2016
-Visions Du Reel Library Film Festival, 2017
-Tirgan Festival, Toronto, 2017
3-Bahram Beyzaie: A Mosaic of Metaphors
W/D/P, 75 Min., Iran/USA, 2019
-Official Selection MESA Film Festival, New Orlean,2019
4-Daryush Mehrjui: The Dazzling Cow
W/D/P, 85 Min, Iran/USA, 2022
Official Selection of MESA Film Fest 2022, USA
Other
1- The Suitors
Dir: Ghasem Ebrahimian
(Actor, USA, 1988).
- Screened for the director’s fortnight at the 1988 Cannes Film Festival and selected for other prestigious film festivals.
