Amir Naderi

Amir Naderi has been one of the most influential personalities of New Iranian Cinema since the 1970s. His early movies were closely tied to Iranian life and culture but took inspiration from the esthetic of Italian neorealism, e.g. work with nonprofessional actors, a loose narrative structure, and socially relevant topics.

The Runner (Davandeh, 1984), about a boy trying to fulfill his dreams in the inhospitable environment of postwar Iran, enjoyed widespread international acclaim.

At the beginning of the 1990s Naderi emigrated to the USA; since then directing has taken him around the world where he has demonstrated unusual openness towards other cultural traditions. For example, his feature Cut (2011 – Another View at KVIFF 2012) is a poetic tribute to classic Japanese cinema but also a social critique of contemporary Japan made directly in the Land of the Rising Sun.

MFF Karlovy Vary