Homayun Ghanizadeh

Homayun Ghanizadeh (born 5 December, 1980) is an Iranian avant-garde theatre director, playwright and actor who founded Mungu Theater Company in 2001.

His debut work, “waiting for Godot” of Samuel Beckett, was produced in 2003 and performed both in Fajr Theatre Festival and for public in Tehran’s City Theater. His breakthrough theater work came with his second performance “Daedalus and Icarus”, which brought him the Best Director Award in 25th Fajr International Theatre Festival in 2006. This play, written by the director himself, and based on the Greek myth of Daedalus and Icarus, received considerable attention among critics and recorded the best selling of Sayeh Theater Hall in Tehran's City Theater. The performance was also invited to several international theater festivals in different countries including Barbican Centre in 2008.

A year later he wrote his “Agamemnon” and performed in 27th Fajr International Film Festival and also in Iranshahr Theater Complex. In 2010, he staged Albert Camus’s Caligula in Fajr Theater Festival and later in Iranshahr Theater complex for 60 nights. In the same year this performance was also invited and performed as a special guest in Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival. At the same time, upon the invitation of Estonian Theater Company, RAAM, he traveled to Tallinn for a common project between Iran and Estonia. There, he wrote and staged Antigone with some of the best Estonian actors. This play was invited to Iran’s 30th Fajr International Theater Festival and was nominated in directing, playwright and acting, and awarded for the best actress in the festival. Ghanizadeh’s Antigone was again performed for public in Tehran’s Iranshahr Theater Complex in 2012. Besides that it was invited to several theater festivals in different countries such as Poland, China and Russia.

Following the success of this common project, RAAM company invited Ghanizadeh again to Estonia for another production. In 2011 Ghanizadeh wrote a play, based on Eugène Ionesco’s The King Dies and staged it with Estonian actors. This play was also invited to Iran’s Fajr International Film Festival.

In 2014, Ghanizadeh performed “Waiting for Godot” again but this time with different actors and in City Theater’s main hall. At the same time he also staged Martin McDonagh’s “The Beauty Queen of Leenane” in which he had the role of an old woman. Both the performances were best sellers of the year. After having another acting experience, and this time in a movie, in jun 2015 he opened his private theater hall, named Homa Rousta Hall, where besides performing different plays, he will also establish many acting and directing classes and workshops.

He directed Albert Camus' Caligula in 2015 in Vahdat Theater Hall which became the best-selling performance of the year. In the same year he acted in "A Dragon Arrives", a movie by Mani Haghighi which was invited to Berlin Film Festival. Homayun Ghanizadeh was nominated for the best supporting actor award by the Iranian Film Critics and Writers Association.

In 2016 he wrote and directed "Mississippi dies seated" which was awarded as the best performance of the year from "Theatre Critics Association". This play performed again for 52 nights in Vahdat hall in 2018 and With more than 2 billion records sold, it broke the highest theater sales in Iran in 2018.

In the same year he had a collaborative project with

. In this project Homayun Ghanizadeh wrote and directed a mono play named "Ajax and the report of a suicide" and an Estonian actor performed it in Iranshahr Theater.

In 2018 he directed his first movie "A Hairy Tale" which received the award of the special jury prize for best script from the 35th Warsaw international film festival and was nominated for seven different awards from the 37th Fajr Film Festival and received the award of the best movie in "Art and Experience" part and also was awarded as the best movie for the "New Look".

In addition Ali Nassirian as the Best Supporting Actor received awards and best visual computer effect from 37th Fajr film festival. The movie invited to many international film festival such as

The 23th Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival
Participation in the competition section of the 26th Listapad Minsk Film Festival, Belarus
Attending the 29th Film Festival of the South, Oslo, Norway
Participate in the competition section of the 34th Fribourg International Film Festival, Switzerland
Attend the 5th Cyrus International Film Festival in Toronto, Canada

Attending the 30th Iranian Film Festival at The Gene Siskel Film Center in Chicago, USA
Attending the first Iranian and Northern Macedonian Film Festival, Skopje
Attending the Iranian Cinema Night in Vancouver, Canada
Attend the 10th Taipei Fantasy Film Festival, Taiwan
Attended the 31st Iranian Film Festival at UCLA, USA
Attending the 8th Paris Iranian Film Festival
Attending the 16th Fantaspoa Film Festival in Brazil
Participate in the competition section of the 19th Transilvania Film Festival, Romania
Attending the 25th Split Film Festival, Croatia
Attending the 15th Malatya Film Festival, Turkey
Attended the 57th Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival, Taiwan

References

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