Ramin Bahrani

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Ramin Bahrani
Bahrani at the 2014 Venice International Film Festival
Born (1975-03-20) March 20, 1975 (age 49)
Winston-Salem, North Carolina, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Alma materColumbia University (BA)
Occupation(s)Director, writer, producer
Years active2005–present

Ramin Bahrani (Persian: رامین بحرانی; born March 20, 1975) is an Iranian-American director and screenwriter. Film critic Roger Ebert ranked Bahrani's Chop Shop (2007) as the sixth-best film of the 2000s, calling him "the new director of the decade".[1] Bahrani was the recipient of the 2009 Guggenheim Fellowship. Bahrani is a professor of film directing at his alma mater, the Columbia University School of the Arts.[2]

In 2021, Bahrani was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for The White Tiger.[3] He is a BAFTA and Emmy Award nominee.

Early life and education[edit]

Bahrani was born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, the son of Iranian immigrants. His father, originally from Shiraz, initially exposed him to the poetic works of Hafez and encouraged him to pursue his passion for the arts.[4] He received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Columbia University in 1996.[5] Bahrani also studied filmmaking in Iran and briefly lived in Paris after graduating from college.[6]

Career[edit]

Bahrani's first feature film, Man Push Cart (2005), premiered at the Venice Film Festival and screened at the Sundance Film Festival in 2006. The film won over ten international prizes, was released worldwide, 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 positive reviews. Bahrani won the 2007 Independent Spirit Someone to Watch Award, and was nominated for the 2008 Independent Spirit Best Director Award.[7]

Goodbye Solo, Bahrani's third feature film, premiered as an official selection of the Venice Film Festival (2008) where it won the international film critics' FIPRESCI Award for Best Film,[8] and later had its North American premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival (2008).[9] The film was called a "masterpiece" by numerous critics including Roger Ebert, and A. O. Scott of The New York Times.[10]

In 2009, he made a short film, Plastic Bag, with the voice of German 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 was later screened at Telluride and The New York Film Festival. In 2012, he made a music video of the song "Eg anda" for the Sigur Rós album Valtari.

Bahrani's fourth feature film, At Any Price (2013) stars Dennis Quaid, Zac Efron, Heather Graham, Kim Dickens, Clancy Brown and Chelcie Ross. It was selected to compete for the Golden Lion at the 69th Venice International Film Festival.[11] The film, despite its relative star power and a notable performance by Dennis Quaid, received mixed reviews from most critics and earned less than $500,000 at the box office.[12]

Bahrani's fifth feature film, 99 Homes (2015), opened to strong reviews[citation needed] at the Venice Film Festival, and was nominated for a Golden Globe Award.

Bahrani's film for HBO, Fahrenheit 451, an adaptation of Ray Bradbury's 1953 dystopian novel of the same name, was released on May 12, 2018, receiving mostly negative reviews.[13][14][15]

In 2021, he adapted Aravind Adiga's 2008 novel The White Tiger as a feature film of the same title on Netflix, to positive critical reception.[16] At the 93rd Academy Awards, the film was nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay, but lost to The Father.

Filmography[edit]

Short films

Year Title Director Writer Producer Editor
1998 Backgammon Yes Yes Yes No
2005 Dogs Yes Yes Yes Yes
2009 Plastic Bag Yes Yes Yes Yes
2014 Lift You Up Yes Yes Yes No
Lemonade War Yes Yes Yes No
2018 Blood Kin Yes Yes Yes No

Feature films

Year Title Director Writer Producer Editor Notes
2000 Strangers Yes Yes Yes No
2005 Man Push Cart Yes Yes Yes Yes
2007 Chop Shop Yes Yes No Yes
2008 Goodbye Solo Yes Yes Yes Yes
2013 At Any Price Yes Yes Yes No
2015 99 Homes Yes Yes Yes Yes
2021 The White Tiger Yes Yes Yes Yes Nominated- Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay
Nominated- BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay
Nominated- Writers Guild of America Award for Best Adapted Screenplay
2022 2nd Chance Yes Yes Yes No Documentary

Television

Year Title Director Producer Writer Editor Notes
2010 Independent Lens Yes Yes Yes Yes
2018 Fahrenheit 451 Yes Executive Yes No TV movie
2019 Treadstone Yes Executive No No Episode "The Cicada Protocol"
2022 The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey Yes Executive No No Episode "Reggie"

Recognitions[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Ebert, Roger (22 March 2009). "Roger Ebert's Journal". Blogs.suntimes.com. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
  2. ^ "Ramin Bahrani | Columbia University School of the Arts". Archived from the original on 28 January 2012. Retrieved 22 July 2012.
  3. ^ Whitten, Sarah (15 March 2021). "Here is the complete list of Oscar nominees for 2021". CNBC. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
  4. ^ ""The New Great American Director"- Iranian American Ramin Bahrani". www.payvand.com. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
  5. ^ "AitN: July 16, 2018". Columbia College Today. 12 July 2018. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
  6. ^ Walters, Ben (4 March 2009). "Ben Walters meets Ramin Bahrani, the chronicler of the new American reality". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
  7. ^ Bahrani at SpiritAwards.com Archived 6 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  8. ^ "Fipresci.Org". Fipresci.Org. Archived from the original on 8 October 2014. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
  9. ^ "Goodbye Solo at Toronto International Film Festival". Tiff08.ca. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
  10. ^ Goodbye Solo: Movie Review The New York Times
  11. ^ "Venezia 69". labiennale. Archived from the original on 28 July 2012. Retrieved 26 July 2012.
  12. ^ "At Any Price (2013)". Rotten Tomatoes.
  13. ^ "Fahrenheit 451". Rotten Tomatoes.
  14. ^ Jagernauth, Kevin (13 April 2016). "'99 Homes' Director Ramin Bahrani To Helm 'Fahrenheit 451' For HBO". IndieWire. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
  15. ^ Petski, Denise (4 August 2017). "'Fahrenheit 451′: Saad Siddiqui Cast In HBO Films' Adaptation Of Bradbury Classic". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Business Media, LLC. Retrieved 14 August 2017.
  16. ^ Del Rosario, Alexandra (29 January 2021). "'The White Tiger': Read The Screenplay For Ramin Bahrani's Rags-To-Riches Drama". Deadline. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  17. ^ United States Artists Official Website Archived 10 November 2010 at the Wayback Machine

External links[edit]

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