Bahman Kiarostami
Bahman Kiarostami started his work as an assistant director in 1996 and made his first film, Morteza Momayez: Father of Iranian Contemporary Graphic Design, in the same year. Shown at international film festivals in Iran and abroad, his subsequent films have focused primarily on art and music, often touching on religious themes as well.


FILMOGRAPHY

2006
Shabih-Khani (Re-enactment): Imam Hossein, the grandson of the prophet Mohammad, was killed in a bloody battle, with his entire family, in 680 CE, in the desert of Karbala. The re-enactment of the Karbala event is one of the most compelling aspects of Persian performing arts. Shabih (impersonator or likeness) is a term which refers to an actor who plays the role of the holy companions of Imam Hossein or his enemies. The title Shabih-Khani underlines the separation between the actors and the roles they play.

2005
Persian Garden gives a behind-the-scenes look at an exhibition which opened at the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art in September 2004.Director Kiarostami followed the artists--among them Abbas Kiarostami, Parviz Tanavoli, Farideh Lashai, Farshid Mesghali, and Dariush Mehrjui--from the inception of their artwork to its delivery to the museum. The film includes footage of artists at work and presents interviews in which they speak candidly about their creative process and about the role that these gardens have played in their lives.

2004
Ziarat (Pilgrimage) is a film about Iranian pilgrims risking their lives to cross the Iran-Iraq border illegally to visit the holy shrine of Imam Hussein in Karbala, Iraq.

Kamancheh (The Kamancheh Player) seeks to celebrate and preserve the unique and beautiful music of the kamancheh., It explores the lives, work, and aspirations of Iranian musicians who have devoted themselves to this distinctive and challenging instrument.

Do Kamancheh (Two Bows) takes as in-depth look at two musicians with radically different lives and approaches. The film facilitates a discourse between modern and traditional points of view and inevitably touches on the complex issues of cultural identity confronting Iranians today.

2003
Infidels (Koffar) is A Film about the Godars--Artist-Gypsies Living in Northern Iran. The film recounts the four ways which the Godars make their living: dancing, acting, hunting and music, and showcases their dedication to preserve their art and age-old rituals. In this film, the Godars, sing songs, play music, and tell the ancient tales of their heritage which often deal with their problems with God.

2002
I saw Shoosh is based on a poem by Mehdi Akhavan-Sales. It compares the ancient city of Shoosh, Iran, formerly a gateway of civilization, to the modern Shoosh, an impoverished city without character.

Leech is an autobiographical film that explores the relationship between a father and his son. It is made in three episodes, separated by five-year intervals.

2001
Tabaki is a documentary about professional mourners in Iran. It not only presents an uncanny view of a peculiar ancient profession within a religious society, but is an insightful portrait of the society itself.

Noor (The Light), which was produced by Arte Channel, France, focuses on the Baroque and Gregorian music that is performed in Armenian churches of Iran. For this film, Kiarostami received the "best director" award at the 2003 Mid East Film Festival in Beirut.

1998
Tarh (The Project) was the visual screenplay for the film Taste of Cherry.

1997
Journey to the Land of the Traveller is a heartwarming documentary about the reunion of a director and the actor who played in one of his films twenty years before.