Ramin Bahrani
Encyclopedia
Ramin Bahrani is an American
director
and screenwriter
. Film critic Roger Ebert
listed Bahrani's film Chop Shop
as the 6th best film of the decade and hailed Bahrani as "the director of the decade." Bahrani was the recipient of the prestigious 2009 Guggenheim Fellowship, and was the subject of several international retrospectives including the MoMA in New York City, Harvard University, and the La Rochelle Film Festival in France.
, North Carolina
to Iran
ian parents. He received his BA from Columbia University
in New York City
. His first feature film, Man Push Cart
(2005), premiered at the Venice Film Festival
(2005) and screened at the Sundance Film Festival
(2006). The film won over 10 international prizes, was released theatrically around the world, and was nominated for three Independent Spirit Awards
.
Bahrani's second film Chop Shop
(2007) premiered at the 2007 Director's Fortnight of the Cannes International Film Festival, and then screened at the Toronto International Film Festival
(2007) and the Berlin International Film Festival
(2008) before being released theatrically to wide and universal critical acclaim. Bahrani was awarded the prestigious 2007 Someone to Watch Independent Spirit Award. In 2008, he was nominated for Best Director Independent Spirit Award.
Goodbye Solo
, Bahrani's third feature film, premiered as an official selection of the Venice Film Festival
(2008) where it won the international film critic's FIPRESCI
award for best film, and later had its North American premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival
(2008). The film was called a "masterpiece" by numerous critics including Roger Ebert and A.O. Scott of The New York Times
.
In 2009, he made a short film Plastic Bag
which features the voice of legendary filmmaker Werner Herzog
and an original score from Kjartan Sveinsson
of the band Sigur Rós
. Plastic Bag
premiered as the opening night film of Corto Cortissimo in the Venice Film Festival where Bahrani was also on the jury for Best First Films. It later screened at Telluride and The New York Film Festival.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
and screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
. Film critic Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
listed Bahrani's film Chop Shop
Chop Shop (film)
Chop Shop is a 2007 American drama film co-written, edited, and directed by Ramin Bahrani. The film tells the story of a twelve-year-old street orphan living and working in Willets Point, an area in Queens, New York filled with automobile repair shops, scrapyards and garbage dumps.Chop Shop...
as the 6th best film of the decade and hailed Bahrani as "the director of the decade." Bahrani was the recipient of the prestigious 2009 Guggenheim Fellowship, and was the subject of several international retrospectives including the MoMA in New York City, Harvard University, and the La Rochelle Film Festival in France.
Life and career
Bahrani was born in Winston-SalemWinston-Salem, North Carolina
Winston-Salem is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina, with a 2010 population of 229,617. Winston-Salem is the county seat and largest city of Forsyth County and the fourth-largest city in the state. Winston-Salem is the second largest municipality in the Piedmont Triad region and is home to...
, North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
to Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
ian parents. He received his BA from Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. His first feature film, Man Push Cart
Man Push Cart
Man Push Cart is a 2005 American independent film by Ramin Bahrani that tells the story of a former Pakistani rock star who sells coffee and bagels from his pushcart on the streets of Manhattan.-Synopsis:...
(2005), premiered at the Venice Film Festival
Venice Film Festival
The Venice International Film Festival is the oldest international film festival in the world. Founded by Count Giuseppe Volpi in 1932 as the "Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica", the festival has since taken place every year in late August or early September on the island of the...
(2005) and screened at the Sundance Film Festival
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...
(2006). The film won over 10 international prizes, was released theatrically around the world, and was nominated for three Independent Spirit Awards
Independent Spirit Awards
The Independent Spirit Awards , founded in 1984, are awards dedicated to independent filmmakers. Winners were typically presented with acrylic glass pyramids containing suspended shoestrings representing the paltry budgets of independent films. In 1986, the event was renamed the Independent Spirit...
.
Bahrani's second film Chop Shop
Chop Shop (film)
Chop Shop is a 2007 American drama film co-written, edited, and directed by Ramin Bahrani. The film tells the story of a twelve-year-old street orphan living and working in Willets Point, an area in Queens, New York filled with automobile repair shops, scrapyards and garbage dumps.Chop Shop...
(2007) premiered at the 2007 Director's Fortnight of the Cannes International Film Festival, and then screened at the Toronto International Film Festival
Toronto International Film Festival
The Toronto International Film Festival is a publicly-attended film festival held each September in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. In 2010, 339 films from 59 countries were screened at 32 screens in downtown Toronto venues...
(2007) and the Berlin International Film Festival
Berlin International Film Festival
The Berlin International Film Festival , also called the Berlinale, is one of the world's leading film festivals and most reputable media events. It is held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in West Berlin in 1951, the festival has been celebrated annually in February since 1978...
(2008) before being released theatrically to wide and universal critical acclaim. Bahrani was awarded the prestigious 2007 Someone to Watch Independent Spirit Award. In 2008, he was nominated for Best Director Independent Spirit Award.
Goodbye Solo
Goodbye Solo
Goodbye Solo is a 2008 American independent film written and directed by Ramin Bahrani. It premiered as an official selection of the 2008 Venice Film Festival where it won the international film critic's FIPRESCI award for best film, and later had its North American premiere at the 2008 Toronto...
, Bahrani's third feature film, premiered as an official selection of the Venice Film Festival
Venice Film Festival
The Venice International Film Festival is the oldest international film festival in the world. Founded by Count Giuseppe Volpi in 1932 as the "Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica", the festival has since taken place every year in late August or early September on the island of the...
(2008) where it won the international film critic's FIPRESCI
FIPRESCI
The International Federation of Film Critics is an association of national organizations of professional film critics and film journalists from around the world for "the promotion and development of film culture and for the safeguarding of professional interests." It was founded in June 1930 in...
award for best film, and later had its North American premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival
Toronto International Film Festival
The Toronto International Film Festival is a publicly-attended film festival held each September in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. In 2010, 339 films from 59 countries were screened at 32 screens in downtown Toronto venues...
(2008). The film was called a "masterpiece" by numerous critics including Roger Ebert and A.O. Scott of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
.
In 2009, he made a short film Plastic Bag
Plastic Bag (film)
Plastic Bag is a short film by award winning director Ramin Bahrani. The film features the voice of renowned German filmmaker Werner Herzog and an original score by Kjartan Sveinsson of the Icelandic rock band Sigur Rós...
which features the voice of legendary filmmaker Werner Herzog
Werner Herzog
Werner Herzog Stipetić , known as Werner Herzog, is a German film director, producer, screenwriter, actor, and opera director.He is often considered as one of the greatest figures of the New German Cinema, along with Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Margarethe von Trotta, Volker Schlöndorff, Werner...
and an original score from Kjartan Sveinsson
Kjartan Sveinsson
Kjartan "Kjarri" Sveinsson is a keyboardist of the Icelandic post-rock band Sigur Rós. He joined the band in 1998. Being something of a multi-instrumentalist, he has also played such instruments as the flute, tin whistle, oboe and even the banjo, as well as many of the unorthodox instruments that...
of the band Sigur Rós
Sigur Rós
Sigur Rós is an Icelandic post-rock band with classicaland minimalist elements. The band is known for its ethereal sound, and frontman Jónsi Birgisson's falsetto vocals and use of bowed guitar. In January 2010, the band announced that they will be on hiatus. Since then, it has since been announced...
. Plastic Bag
Plastic Bag (film)
Plastic Bag is a short film by award winning director Ramin Bahrani. The film features the voice of renowned German filmmaker Werner Herzog and an original score by Kjartan Sveinsson of the Icelandic rock band Sigur Rós...
premiered as the opening night film of Corto Cortissimo in the Venice Film Festival where Bahrani was also on the jury for Best First Films. It later screened at Telluride and The New York Film Festival.
Filmography
| Year | Title | Festivals | Awards |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Man Push Cart Man Push Cart Man Push Cart is a 2005 American independent film by Ramin Bahrani that tells the story of a former Pakistani rock star who sells coffee and bagels from his pushcart on the streets of Manhattan.-Synopsis:... |
|
|
| 2007 | Chop Shop Chop Shop (film) Chop Shop is a 2007 American drama film co-written, edited, and directed by Ramin Bahrani. The film tells the story of a twelve-year-old street orphan living and working in Willets Point, an area in Queens, New York filled with automobile repair shops, scrapyards and garbage dumps.Chop Shop... |
|
|
| 2008 | Goodbye Solo Goodbye Solo Goodbye Solo is a 2008 American independent film written and directed by Ramin Bahrani. It premiered as an official selection of the 2008 Venice Film Festival where it won the international film critic's FIPRESCI award for best film, and later had its North American premiere at the 2008 Toronto... |
|
|
| 2009 | Plastic Bag Plastic Bag (film) Plastic Bag is a short film by award winning director Ramin Bahrani. The film features the voice of renowned German filmmaker Werner Herzog and an original score by Kjartan Sveinsson of the Icelandic rock band Sigur Rós... |
|
Awards and honors
- FIPRESCI Prize, London Film FestivalLondon Film FestivalThe BFI London Film Festival is the UK's largest public film event, screening more than 300 features, documentaries and shorts from almost 50 countries. The festival, , currently in its 54th year, is run every year in the second half of October under the umbrella of the British Film Institute...
(2005) - Someone to Watch Independent Spirit Award (2008)
- FIPRESCI Prize, Venice Film FestivalVenice Film FestivalThe Venice International Film Festival is the oldest international film festival in the world. Founded by Count Giuseppe Volpi in 1932 as the "Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica", the festival has since taken place every year in late August or early September on the island of the...
(2008) - Guggenheim FellowshipGuggenheim FellowshipGuggenheim Fellowships are American grants that have been awarded annually since 1925 by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts." Each year, the foundation makes...
(2009) - United States ArtistsUnited States ArtistsUnited States Artists is an independent nonprofit and nongovernmental philanthropic organization based in Los Angeles, California and dedicated to supporting the work of living American artists by the granting of cash awards, called USA Fellowships...
Fellow award (2010)
External links
- Noruz Films
- Maltin's Movie Treasures That Time Forgot
- Leonard Maltin's 151 Best Movies You've Never Seen
- "Who's Who 2048?" NY Magazine 40th Anniversary Edition, 28 Sept 2008
- Ramin Bahrani "My Top Ten Criterions" The Criterion CollectionThe Criterion CollectionThe Criterion Collection is a video-distribution company selling "important classic and contemporary films" to film aficionados. The Criterion series is noted for helping to standardize the letterbox format for home video, bonus features, and special editions...
- Flower in the junkyard review at Salon magazine
- "Ramin Bahrani talks about Chop Shop," Cinema Without Borders, 29 Oct 2008
- Interview, Brian Brooks, indieWIRE, 7 Sept 2006
- Interview: Unafraid of Americans