Manouchehr Farid

Manouchehr Farid, also spelt Manuchehr Farid, is an Iranian actor of stage and screen, resident in Australia since 1985. He is especially known for featuring in plays and films of Iranian New Wave directors, and was a frequent collaborator with film director Bahram Beyzai, starring in his acclaimed 1972 film Downpour.

Early life and education

Manouchehr Farid was born in Iran. He is of the Baháʼí Faith.[1]

Career

Farid performed in the theatre as well as on the big screen.[2]

He starred in several plays and films of Iranian New Wave directors[2] from 1966 to 1976.[3] He was a regular collaborator with Bahram Beyzaie,[4] starring in his films Downpour (1972),[1] Ballad of Tara (Tcherike-ye Tara; 1979),[2] and Stranger and the Fog (Gharibeh Va Meh; 1976).[3] Downpour is included in The Film Foundation's World Cinema Project.[1]

He also starred in Ebrahim Golestan's 1964 film Brick and Mirror (Khesht o Ayeneh); Masoud Kimiai's Baluch;[5] and My Heritage, Insanity (Miras-e man, jonoon; 1981), directed by Mehdi Fakhimzadeh.[3]

Farid and his family were forced to flee persecution for their faith when the Islamic Revolution swept across Iran in 1979[1][5] They first moved to California, and in 1985 emigrated to Australia, settling in Melbourne, Victoria.[6]

Life in Australia

In Australia, Farid worked in a textile factory for 35 years,[1] and did not return to stage or film.[2]

Simorgh

Young Iranian-Australian filmmaker Noora Niasari met him when she was in her final year of film studies at the Victorian College of the Arts (VCA). She got to know him over a period of months, and persuaded him to star in her short film Simorgh (The Phoenix).[1][7] The film screened at many Australian and international film festivals in 2015,[8] the 4th Persian Film Festival Australia,[9] and the fourth Nepal Human Rights International Film Festival, among others. It won the Cinema Nova and New Voices Awards in the 46th Annual Graduate Film School Awards at the VCA, and was nominated in the 2015 Australian Director's Guild Awards in the "Best Direction in a Student Film" category.[8] In the film, described as "a drama that blurs the line between fiction and documentary",[10] Farid teaches drama to teenagers inside an Australian detention centre.[11] The film is available via the VCA Film & Television archive.[8] Niasari has said that the film reflects on loss of identity, sadness and nostalgia for the past.[1]

Personal life

Farid's son, Amir Farid, is a pianist[5][12] who plays in a musical trio called the Benaud Trio.[13]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Niasari, Noora (24 May 2022). "The eternal student: Noora Niasari on Abbas Kiarostami". ACMI: Your museum of screen culture (Interview). Interviewed by Gunawardana, Dilan. Retrieved 16 September 2025.
  2. ^ a b c d Jamali, Peyman (4 August 2015). "Phoenix: When One Attempts to Restore Others' Lives But Unexpectedly Discovers His Own". SBS Language. Archived from the original on 20 September 2025. Retrieved 20 September 2025.
  3. ^ a b c "Meeting with Manouchehr Farid in Australia". One News Box. 24 April 2023. Archived from the original on 7 July 2025. Retrieved 20 September 2025.
  4. ^ "CHERIKE-YE TARA". Il Cinema Ritrovato Festival. 20 September 2025. Archived from the original on 21 January 2025. Retrieved 20 September 2025.
  5. ^ a b c Azimi, Babak (7 September 2007). "I've always been eager to see Iran". BBCPersian.com (in Persian). BBC. Archived from the original on 20 September 2025. Retrieved 20 September 2025.
  6. ^ "AMIR FARID (PIANO 2005)". ANAM. 27 October 2024. Archived from the original on 21 March 2025. Retrieved 20 September 2025.
  7. ^ "MIFF Film Archive". Miff 2025. Retrieved 20 September 2025.
  8. ^ a b c The Phoenix (Simorgh). Nora[sic] Niasari. 2015. Drama on YouTube Uploaded 30 March 2020 by VCA Film & Television.
  9. ^ "Noora Niasari". Persian Film Festival. 8 July 2016. Retrieved 17 September 2025.
  10. ^ "Nora Niasari Interview". Subculture Entertainment. 22 June 2016. Retrieved 20 September 2025.
  11. ^ "The Phoenix (2015)". Screen Australia. 10 June 2024. Archived from the original on 13 July 2024. Retrieved 20 September 2025.
  12. ^ "Australia's premier piano competition". Australian National Piano Award. 18 April 2025. Archived from the original on 21 June 2025. Retrieved 20 September 2025.
  13. ^ "About Benaud Trio". Benaud Trio. 16 January 2021. Archived from the original on 20 September 2025. Retrieved 20 September 2025.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.