Iman Bayatfar
Director | Editor | Writer | Photographer
About Me

فارسی

I was born on April 19, 1988, in the “Amiriyeh” neighborhood in Tehran, the capital of Iran.
The miracle of the VHS tapes and hundred times of watching movies like “Terminator 2” and “Toy Story” was the first spark for me to follow cinema more seriously.
I continued my education in the field of computer, software orientation, in the high school and in the associate degree level.
I started my career in cinema by writing articles and film reviews in magazines and newspapers.
Then I graduated from university with a bachelor’s degree in Cinema professional expert-directing.
My first short film, “Tenants, 26 Years Later,” which I made with my mobile phone, won the “Best Short Film Award” at the “Tehran Urban Film Festival.”
My second short film, “Second Breath”, participated in the final part of the 40th edition of the “Elche International Independent Film Festival” in Spain, the Image of the Year Festival and the Free Film Workshop Festival in Tehran.
During these years, I gained valuable experiences in the field of film editing and color correction, being in the presence of professional editors of our cinema industry.
Also in 2016, according to the invitation of the “University of Paris 8”, France, I was a member of their film festival’s jury in animation section.
In continuation of my carrier, I participated in “Kinosmena Film Festival” in Belarus and “Tehran Urban Film Festival” with a short film “Call me Uncle Karim, like everyone does”.
After making a couple of short films and participating in various Iranian and also international festivals, in which I won awards, I realized that the independent cinema is the most precious kind of filmmaking in this industry.
It takes a lot of time and energy and also money to make a film exactly like the film, you have made in your mind before, without any support.
By participating in festivals in countries such as the United States, Argentina, Spain, Italy, Belarus, Bangladesh, etc., I realized that cinema is world’s most common language between different cultures.
In Iran, mainstream cinema is commonly in the form of governmental projects with a specific policy, so there is no place for me or directors like me in this system.
Therefore I have always tried to live my life by editing movies, writing screenplays, making advertising videos, made the opening credits for a TV series, being a cinematographer for small and large projects, and if I have the time and appetite I try to do photography.
I am also not far from the theater atmosphere and I have performed in many plays as a director and project consultant, lighting designer, sound designer, poster and brochure designer.
Over the years, I have had activities in the field of branding and art directing by making video clips and Ads.
And last but not least:
“I’m still not disappointed. I think after the pandemic, cinema is experiencing a transition. Maybe in the near future cinema will experience fundamental changes all over the world. Internet TVs, streaming networks, social media and video games are now the biggest actors in the field of visual arts. So don’t you think that in this era, the best way to save the cinema is supporting the independent filmmaking flow?”

“In the end truth will be stranger and more unbelievable than reality."