Samuel Khachikian ( ; ; October 21, 1923 – October 22, 2001) was an

Iranian Iranian () may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Iran ** Iranian diaspora, Iranians living outside Iran ** Iranian architecture, architecture of Iran and parts of the rest of West Asia ** Iranian cuisine, cooking traditions and practic ...

film director, screenwriter, author, and film editor of

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...

descent. He was one of the most influential figures of Iranian cinema and was nicknamed "Iran's

Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English film director. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featu ...

Biography

Born 1923 in

Tabriz Tabriz (; ) is a city in the Central District (Tabriz County), Central District of Tabriz County, in the East Azerbaijan province, East Azerbaijan province of northwestern Iran. It serves as capital of the province, the county, and the distric ...

to a family of

immigrants. Khachikian's father escaped the

Armenian genocide The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenians, Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was implemented primarily t ...

in 1915 and settled in Tabriz. His mother admired cinema and the arts and often took her children to the theater. Samuel Khachikian published his first poem "The Prison" in the Armenian newspaper Alik when he was nine. Five years later, he gave his first stage performance in Tabriz in a play titled "Seville". He completed his education in History and Journalism, and wrote eight plays which went on stage not only in different cities of Iran, but also in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Greece. Khachikian made his first film in 1953, titled ''

Return Return may refer to: In business, economics, and finance * Return on investment (ROI), the financial gain after an expense. * Rate of return, the financial term for the profit or loss derived from an investment * Tax return, a blank document or t ...

''. He was among the first and few directors who used the decoupage technique on the film set, preparing the complete shooting script in advance. The success of his works attracted a lot of attention to the advantages of this filmmaking approach. As an innovative filmmaker, he turned the production of

murder mysteries "Murder Mysteries" is a fantasy short story by Neil Gaiman first published in the 1992 anthology ''Midnight Graffiti'' and later collected in his short story collection, collections ''Angels and Visitations'' and ''Smoke and Mirrors (story colle ...

and noir thrillers into a popular new wave in the Iranian filmmaking. He made the first ever movie trailer in the history of Iranian cinema for the movie ''A Girl From Shira'' in 1954. Subsequent films, such as ''The Strike'' and ''The Eagles'', were box office hits of their times. The 1956 film '' A Party in Hell'' directed by Khachikian was entered into the

8th Berlin International Film Festival The 8th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 27 June to 8 July 1958 with the Zoo Palast as the main venue. The festival was opened by then West Berlin's newly elected mayor Willy Brandt. The Golden Bear was awarded to '' Wi ...

. Khachikian's brother Souren Khachikian was also heavily involved in the production of his films. Souren's grandson Ara H. Keshishian is working as a film editor in

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

. Samuel Khachikian's son Edwin Khachikian is also a director. He died on October 22, 2001, at the age of seventy-eight in Tehran, Iran.

Filmography

*1953: ''

'' (Bazgasht) *1954: ''A Girl From Shiraz'' (Dokhtari az Shiraz) *1955: ' () *1955: ''Blood and Honor'' (Khoon va Sharaf) *1956: '' A Party in Hell'' (Shab-Neshini dar Jahannam) *1958: ''A Messenger From Heaven'' (Ghasede Behesht) *1958: ' () *1959: ''The Hill of Love'' (Tappeye Eshgh) *1961: ''One Step to Death'' (Yak Qadam ta Marg) *1961: ''The Midnight Terror'' (Faryad-e Nimeshab) *1962: ''Anxiety'' (Delhoreh) *1964: ''The Strike'' (Zarbat) *1965: ''Delirium'' (Sarsam) *1966, ' (Esyan) * 1966, ' (Ba Eshgh Hargez) *1966: '' Khodahafez Tehran'' (Farewell to Tehran) *1967: ''The Tiger of Mazandaran'' (Babr-e Mazandaran) *1968: ''White Hell'' (Jahannam-e Safid) *1968: ''I Cried Too'' (Man Ham Gerye Kardam) *1968: ''Hengameh'' *1969: ''The Cry of the Storm'' (Narya Tufan) *1970: ''Yalda Night Story'' (Ghesseye Shab-e Yalda) *1971: ''The Glass Wall'' (Divar-e Shishayi) *1973: ''The Kiss on Blood Lips'' *1975: ''Death in the Rain'' (Marg dar Baran) *1976: ''Anxiety'' (Ezterab) *1978: ''The Shark of the South'' (Koose-ye Jonoob) *1979: ''Explosion'' (Enfejar) *1984: ''

Eagles Eagle is the common name for the golden eagle, bald eagle, and other birds of prey in the family of the Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of Genus, genera, some of which are closely related. True eagles comprise the genus ''Aquila ( ...

'' (Oghab-ha) *1985: ''Cheetah'' (Yoozpalang) *1990: ''The Herald'' (Chavush) *1992: ''A Man in the Mirror'' (Mard-i dar Ayena) *1994: ''Bluff'' *2001: ''Doubt'' (unfinished due to Khachikian's illness)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Khachikian, Samuel Iranian film directors Iranian film editors Persian-language film directors Writers from Tabriz Iranian people of Armenian descent 1923 births 2001 deaths Armenian-language writers 20th-century Iranian screenwriters

Biography

Filmography

References

Further reading

External links