Ramin Bahrani

Biography:

Iranian-American director and screenwriter Ramin Bahrani was born on March 20, 1975, with Persian naming customs. With his 2007 film Chop Shop, critic Roger Ebert dubbed Bahrani “the new director of the decade” and placed him as the sixth-best movie of the 2000s. The 2009 Guggenheim Fellowship was awarded to Bahrani. At Columbia University School of the Arts, where he received his degree, Bahrani teaches film directing. Bahrani’s script for The White Tiger received an Academy Award nomination in 2021 for Best Adapted Screenplay. He is nominated for an Emmy and a BAFTA.

Bahrani, the son of Iranian immigrants, was born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. He was first introduced to Hafez’s poetry by his father, who was originally from Shiraz, who also inspired him to follow his artistic vocation. In 1996, he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from Columbia University. After graduating from college, Bahrani spent a brief time living in Paris and studying filmmaking in Iran.

Man Push Cart (2005), Bahrani’s debut feature film, had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival and a 2006 Sundance Film Festival screening. The movie received over ten international awards, was released all over the world, and received three Independent Spirit Award nominations.