Mona Zandi (; born 20 October 1972 in

Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...

) is an Iranian film director. She is best known as a director and editor of short films, documentaries, and feature films. Her film work belongs to the cinema of post-revolutionary Iran, which focuses on contemporary social issues within Persian culture. Mona Zandi worked with Iranian film director and pioneer Rakhshan Bani-E'temad.

Career

Mona Zandi studied Interior Design at

Tehran University The University of Tehran (UT) or Tehran University (, ) is a public collegiate university in Iran, and the oldest and most prominent Iranian university located in Tehran. Based on its historical, socio-cultural, and political pedigree, as well as ...

. Afterwards, she worked as an editor on several films, including ''Bull’s Horn'' (Kianoosh Avari, 1995), ''Rahban'' (Reza Sobhani, 1999) and ''The Eight Thirty Train'' (Behzad Khodaveisi, 2000). Additionally, she directed several of her own short films and documentaries. ''On a Friday Afternoon'' (also known as ''Friday Evening'' or ''Asr e-Jome''), released in 2006, was her first feature film.

''On a Friday Afternoon''

Zandi's premiere feature film was released in 2006 by Cinema 79 Co. It was shot on

35mm 35 mm may refer to: Film * 135 film, a type of still photography format commonly referred to as 35 mm film * 35 mm movie film, a type of motion picture film stock * 35MM, a "musical exhibition" by Ryan Scott Oliver that features music ...

Color 76’ film. The primary credits include Hussein Jafarian (cinematographer), Sepideh Abdolvahab (editor), Jila Mehrjooee (sets and costumes), Behrooz Moavenian (sound), Fardin Khalatbari (music) and Jahangir Kossari (producer). The film documents the conflicts experienced by an

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

ian family in

. The screenplay of the film was written by

Farid Mostafavi Farid Mostafavi (; born 27 October 1954 in Tehran, Iran) is an Iranian screenwriter best known for his social realist films set in urban Tehran, several of which were directed and co-written by Rakhshan Bani-Etemad. Education Mostafavi attended ...

based on an idea of Mona Zandi’s. Within the film, Sogand (Roya Nownahall) and her son, Omid (Mehrdad Sedighiyan) do not get along. Omid acts out because he does not have a present father. It is suggested that Sogand has a secret that is affecting her wellbeing and relationship with her son until the arrival of Sogand’s sister, Banafshe (Haniye Tayassol) reveals the family's dark past. The film deals with topics of sexual abuse and familial dysfunction. The film was screened at several International film festivals including the Tiburon International Film Festival (2007), the Rochelle International Film Festival (2007), the

Fajr International Film Festival Iran's annual Fajr International Film Festival (), or Fajr Film Festival (little: FIFF; ), has been held every February in Tehran since 1983. The festival is supervised by the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance. It takes place on the anni ...

(2006), the

Thessaloniki International Film Festival The Thessaloniki International Film Festival (TIFF) is a film festival held every November in Thessaloniki, Greece. It is organized by the Thessaloniki Film Festival under the auspices of the Greek Ministry of Culture. It features internationa ...

(2007) and the

Gene Siskel Film Center The Gene Siskel Film Center, formerly The Film Center of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and commonly referred to as The Film Center or The Gene Siskel, is the cinematheque attached to The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. It ...

’s Annual Festival of Films from Iran (2006).

Non-film Work

Mona Zandi put together a book called ''You Were so Kind!'', a collection of children’s letters and drawings based on the 2003 earthquake in

Bam, Iran Bam () is a city in the Central District of Bam County, Kerman province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district. The modern city surrounds the ancient citadel which has a history dating back to around 2,000 years ag ...

. According to Iranica Online, the earthquake had “the highest casualty rate and the most profound social impact in the recorded post-1900 history of devastating urban earthquakes in Iran.”

Awards and nominations

Mona Zandi won the

Crystal Simorgh The Crystal Simorgh () is an award given by Fajr International Film Festival, Iran's major annual film festival. It is awarded in several categories of International Competition as well as Iranian Cinema Competition. The award's name comes from ...

Special Jury Prize for ''On a Friday Afternoon'' in February 2006 at the 24th

Tehran, Iran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...

. On a Friday Afternoon'' also received the Silver Alexander Special Jury award at the 47th

in November of 2006.

Filmography

*1998 – ''Secret of a View'' *2000 – ''Photo without a Frame'' *2002 – ''Bakhtayar’s Coloring Pencils'' *2006 – ''On a Friday Afternoon'' *2019 – ''

African Violet ''Streptocarpus'' sect. ''Saintpaulia'' is a section within ''Streptocarpus'' subgenus ''Streptocarpella'' consisting of about ten species of herbaceous perennial flowering plants in the family Gesneriaceae, native to Tanzania and adjacent sout ...

External links

*
Encyclopedia Iranica

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zandi-Haqiqi, Mona Iranian women film directors Iranian film directors Crystal Simorgh recipients 1972 births Living people