Ayat Najafi (, , born 23 September 1976) is an Iranian film director and screenwriter. He has received many international awards from the
Berlin International Film Festival
The Berlin International Film Festival (), usually called the Berlinale (), is an annual film festival held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festival has been held every February since 1978 and is one of Europ ...
and
Outfest
Outfest is an LGBTQ-oriented nonprofit that produces two film festivals, operates a movie streaming platform, and runs educational services for filmmakers in Los Angeles. Outfest is one of the key partners, alongside the Frameline Film Festival ...
Montreal World Film Festival
The Montreal World Film Festival (), commonly abbreviated MWFF in English or FFM in French, was an annual film festival in Montreal, Quebec, Canada from 1977 to 2019.No Land's Song''.
Life and career
Ayat Najafi was born in Tehran in 1976.
He established a youth theatre company in college in 1995, while getting professional experience as an intern and participating in several workshops, with masters and professors of Iranian theatre. He participated in a number of different theatrical productions as an assistant director, author, actor, and set designer. Since 2000, he realized his own directorial work.
In 2003, he established the Arta Atelier, focusing on an interdisciplinary, multimedia approach to theater, as well as experimental short and documentary film.
Ayat participated in at Berlinale Talent Campus, 2005, with his short film, “Move It” (2004). “ Football Under Cover”, his 1st feature
documentary
A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...
, co-directed by David Assmann, premiered at the International Berlin Film Festival, 2008, and has participated in several other festivals, winning several awards, such as Teddy award for best documentary,
Berlinale
The Berlin International Film Festival (), usually called the Berlinale (), is an annual film festival held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festival has been held every February since 1978 and is one of Europ ...
2008 and Prix Europa TV IRIS.
'' No Land's Song'' his 2nd feature documentary premiered at the
Montréal World Film Festival
The Montreal World Film Festival (), commonly abbreviated MWFF in English or FFM in French, was an annual film festival in Montreal, Quebec, Canada from 1977 to 2019.Gijon International Film Festival. Youth Jury Award,
Dok Leipzig
DOK Leipzig is a documentary film festival that takes place every October in Leipzig, Germany. It is an international film festival for documentary and animated film founded in 1955 under the name "1st All-German Leipzig Festival of Cultural an ...
. Nestor Almendros Award for Courage in Filmmaking,
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Headquartered in New York City, the group investigates and reports on issues including War crime, war crimes, crim ...
Film Festival - New York.
He was a fellow at the International Research Center, Free University of Berlin and at the Exzellenzcluster, Kulturelle Grundlagen von Integration, University of Constance where he presented his theater production, “Stories of Women with Mustaches and Men in Skirts”. “Lady Tehran”, his second theater production in Germany with an international cast and crew, was performed in Berlin in 2009.
In 2011, he followed with “Rasht- City of Women”, and 2012 with “Pakistan (does not) Exist”, also performed in
Berlin
Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
.
Ayat Najafi was a jury member at various festivals, including Amnesty International Jury at the Berlinale in 2012 and international jury at dokumentART- European Film Festival for Documentaries 2014. He is also author of numerous articles and essays for magazines, newspapers and web sites in Iran and Germany.
He currently lives in Berlin and Tehran.
Filmography
Theaterography
* Sleepy Noon, Tehran 2001
* The Seagull, Tehran 2002
* The Armed Robbery of Potatoes, Tehran 2003
* Ferdowsi, Saddam Hossein and the Ants Pried in the Empty City, Tehran 2004
* Moments Before Tragedy, Tehran 2005
* Stories of Women with Mustaches and Men in Skirts, Constance, Germany 2009
* Tehran Banou: Lady Teheran, Berlin 2009
* Rasht – Stadt der Frauen, Berlin. 2011