2022 : Derbent; What Persia Left Behind
A comprehensive documentary film about the UNESCO World Heritage Site ‘Fortifications of Derbent’ (Darband). The monument was built in the 6th century AD by the Persian emperor Khosrow Anushirvan and is considered the largest defensive structure of Sasanian dynasty in the Caucasus.
The film features exclusive footage of the site and its Pahlavi (Middle Persian) inscriptions which is the northmost in the world. (Watch Trailer …)
2018 : Taq Kasra: Woonder of Architecture
The first-ever documentary film on the world’s largest brick vault and the symbol of the Persian Empire in the Sasanian era (224-651 AD), when a major part of Mesopotamia (modern Iraq) was part of Persia. Taq Kasra (Arch of Ctesiphon) was in serious danger of ISIS attacks in 2014-2016 and this was the main motivation for documentary maker to travel to Baghdad twice and film the arch before it was potentially destroyed. Ten internationally-recognised scholars have been featured in the film as well. (Watch Trailer)
2009 : Hayedeh: Legendary Persian Diva
The first-ever documentary on the life and professional career of one of most popular singers of 20th-century Persia (Iran). Hayedeh’s sudden death in exile in 1990 shocked the entire nation. The film contains an extensive review of the singer’s activities from the beginning in late 1960s at Radio Tehran to the end in 1990 in California. The documentary looks at Hayedeh’s career against the backdrop of political and social upheaval in her homeland as the nation went from monarchy to revolution to protracted war that forced many of its best and brightest into exile. (Watch Trailer)
Contribution:
– Nobody Sees It (‘Niemand die het ziet’), a Dutch documentary about the Netherlands’ involvement in a secret intelligence operation in Iran. NPO (Amsterdam, 2024)
– Music of Persia: from Khomeini to Shah, Manoto TV (London, 2024)