PANAHBARKHODA REZAEE

Film Director / Producer / Screenwriter

PROFESSIONAL PROFILE : 

Panahbarkhoda Rezaee is an Iranian-Canadian international creative film director. He is also a writer, researcher and documentary filmmaker. His films have been acclaimed at international film festivals, many of which have won prestigious awards, and critics from Variety, The Hollywood Reporter have written positive reviews about his films. He has produced and directed feature films and documentaries in the Middle East, Asia and Europe, mainly focusing on human rights, war, women and children and social issues. He is writing his new screenplay in English with a focus on immigration, which he will start producing in collaboration with a team of Canadian professionals after completing the screenplay.

MEMBERSHIPS :

• Directors Guild of Canada (DGC) • Directors Guild of Iranian Cinema (DGI) • Film Producers Guild of Iran (FPGI) • Iranian Documentary Filmmakers Association (IDFA) • Association of Iranian Documentary Producers (AIDP) • Iranian Alliance of Motion Picture Guilds (IAMPG) • Iranian Short Film Association (ISFA) • Tehran Motion Pictures Producers Association (TMPA)

SELECTED FILM CRITIQUE :

• Russell Edwards the critic of Variety described the film in this way: "A Light in the Fog" is a singularly assured feature film bow that is as understated as the best of Iranian cinema. With this flawlessly designed and exquisitely photographed work, shorts filmmaker Panahbarkhoda Rezaee has created a genuine masterpiece.

• In the report of the cinema critics of Edinburgh Film Festival in June 2009, we read :

In its meditative rhythm, painterly long-take shooting, and preference for atmospheric compositions over narrative drive, Rezaee's exquisite debut recalls such masterpieces as Sohrab Shahid Saless' Still Life and Sokurov's Mother and Son. This is efficient, powerfully elegant filmmaking. This utterly assured use of formal qualities in lighting and image composition to achieve intensely poetic goals marks Rezaee out as a major new filmmaking talent.

• In the report of the film critics of the Copenhagen Film Festival on April 22, 2009, we read : Rezaee's record in the short film, in the poetic and beautiful film "A Light in the Fog" serves him well. The story could not be simpler and the result more glorious. Rezaee's profound impact can be felt in every scene, as he displays sensory awareness that is expressed in both sounds and images, and this is the balance between minimalist perfection and the intimate grandeur that is the "A Light in the fog" given. Rezaee is not on the way to becoming one of the great directors of Iran. He is already there.

• Roman Gutek In the report of the cinema critics of Pusan Film Festival, A Window on Asian Cinema, 2011, we read : "Daughter ... father ... daughter" lives with its measured rhythm, in which the routine of days, though seemingly monotonous and slow, nevertheless hums with intangible magic. Iranian cinema has accustomed us to young heroes, symbolism, and political generalizations. This film is different – unusual, contemplative. Rezaee’s meticulous attention to image endows the film with exceptional visual qualities, in perfect balance with its narrative intentions and tone. For me, it was one of the major revelations of the past year.

• In a statement, the jury announced the reason for awarding the prize to "Daughter ... Father ... Daughter": For its original approach, with an aesthetic parti-pris, through the use of sparse narrative and light as a character, to depict life in a difficult environment.

• Mohammad Haqiqat Critique of the Feature Film "Daughter...Mother...Daughter" on the occasion of its screening in Art and Experience Cinema, printed in Banifilm Cinema, 8 April 2015. In today’s cinema of the world when most of the filmmakers have got close to the audience’s taste more than any other time, the making of "Daughter...Mother...Daughter" by Panahbarkhoda Rezaee finds a special place. The filmmaker, without trying the least to please the audience, has reached career maturity. Each shot - with its breath-taking beauty - reminds the viewer uncontrollably of poetry. As if, the filmmaker invites his audience to watch poetry. The images are like a poem you don’t remember where you have read or heard!

• In a statement, the NETPAC jury announced the reason for awarding the prize to the film "A Cradle for Mother" : providing a powerful and effective picture of the daily problems and life of contemporary Iranian women and the warmth, pure simplicity and humanity of the film.

 EDUCATION :

 • Bachelor of Fine Arts in Cinematic Film Directing, Tehran Soore University, Iran (1995 - 2000)

 SELECTED AWARDS AND NOMINATIONS :