Behnam Behzadi

Behnam Behzadi ( بهنام بهزادی ) was born in 1972 in Boroujen, Iran and obtained a diploma in cinema from the faculty of Seda & Cima in Tehran in1995. He began his artistic activities in the theatre and photography whilst directing shorts in 8mm & 16mm formats as well as video. Over the past few years he's written scripts, worked in editing and collaborated with various scriptwriters including Bahman Ghobadi with whom he was co-script writer for the film Nive mang/Half Moon. Behnam Behzadi has al so worked in marketing and advertising and was for some time artistic director of the campaign against cruelty to children. His first feature film 'We Only Live Twice' (2007) was nominated in several festivals including Asia Pacific Film Festival and won prizes in Osian Cinefan Film Festival. 5 years later, he made his second Film 'The Rule of Accident'. Behzadi's 'Varoonegi' made it to the shortlist in the 'Un Certain Regard' category at Cannes Film Festival in 2016.Behnam Behzadi has been a Director in some movies: The Rule of Accident is about that A group of young theater students rehearse for a play they will perform at an upcoming festival. As their individual personal issues arise, a new group dynamic develops. With laughter and tears they share their troubles and experiences. Through the strength of their friendship, they learn to overcome their obstacles together. 'The Rule of Accident' is a touching story about another kind of family. In this film Behnam Behzadi collaborates with Ashkan Khatibi, Mohammad Reza Ghaffari, Mehrdad Sedighian, Amir Jafari, Omid Roohani, Sorush Sehhat, Elaheh Hesari, Amin Jafari, Yadollah Najafi, Negar Nemati, Amir Hossein Ghodsi, Roshanak Gerami, Baharan Bani Ahmadi, Martin Shamoonpour, Ehsan Mahsoori, Neda Jebraeili, Soodabe Khosravi, Behrang Dezfooli Zade. Hide Your Words is about that This enlightening documentary takes a look at a lesser-known side of Iran. Sisters Zahra and Shahnaz are from the Bakhtiari tribe, and work in a salt spring with their parents. However, they also attend school every day, and are top students. Zahra aspires to be a doctor, but in Bakhtiari society, children’s fates are decided by their parents. It is initially unclear whether Zahra’s parents intend to marry her off, or let her continue her education in pursuit of her goals. Zahra, meanwhile, is hesitant to express her own views on the matter. A fascinating look at custom limitations. In this film Behnam Behzadi collaborates with Majid Ghorbanifar. Inversion is about that Tehran's air pollution has reached the maximum level because of inversion. Niloofar, a 35-year-old girl who owns a sewing workshop,lives with her mother. She finds her old lover when doctors say her mother must leave Tehran forever because of her respiratory situation. Niloofar’s brother and the elders of the family decide that she must be the one to accompany the mother because she is the youngest child and still single without any children, and she has always obeyed their orders. This time, however, is different; she stands up to the decision the others have made for her. In this film Behnam Behzadi collaborates with Sahar Dolatshahi, Ali Mosaffa, Payam Yazdani, Shirin Yazdanbakhsh, Roya Javidnia, Ebadollah Karimi, Babak Karimi Tari, Bahram Badakhshani, Alireza Aghakhani, Setareh Pesiani, Rashid Daneshmand, Setareh Hosseini, Meysam Molaee, Toofan Mehrdadian, Mojtaba Nam Nabat, Yazdan Akhoondi, Sahar Sakhaei, Somayeh Jafari, Soodabe Khosravi. We Only Live Twice is about that Siyamak is a minibus driver in Tehran. On the verge of his 40th birthday, he has decided to do everything that he’s ever longed to do, including visiting Dr. Ahmadi, who’s once been his favorite girl in university but he’s never had the chance to confess his feelings for her and also finding a man who was the reason he got fired from work and taking revenge on him. Siyamak doesn’t have more than a few days to do all of these. because he believes that on the day of his birth, he will die. In the midst of all these, he meets a young and beautiful girl, Shahrzad, who becomes the reason for his rising hopes. When the girl sees Siyamak’s indifference, she disappears. Siyamak has found a ray of hope with her presence in his life, without being able to find her… 

Revenge: Winner of Isfahan’s International Film Festival for Children and Youth in 2010, Winner of the FIPA Award for Best Short Film in France, 2000
We Went to the Riverside: Winner of Golden Kite Award for Best Picture at the 2005 Buenos Aires Film Festival in Argentina
Hide Your Words: Nominated for the Best Short Documentary Award at IDFA in Amsterdam, Netherlands, 2002 – Winner of the 2003 Silver Docs Special Jury Award in the U.S.
Bending the Rules (2013): Official Selection at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival – ACID Section; Winner of Best Film at the 31st Fajr International Film Festival in Iran
Inversion (2016): Screened in the Un Certain Regard section of the 2016 Cannes Film Festival; Winner of the Special Jury Prize at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA); Winner of Best Director and Best Actress at the 2016 Chicago International Film Festival
Third World War (2022): Winner of the Orizzonti Award for Best Film at the 79th Venice International Film Festival; Winner of Best Actor award for Mohsen Tanabandeh in the same section; Iran’s official submission to the 2023 Academy Awards (Best International Feature Film category)