Ali Hatami

Director & actor · born 19 August 1944 · Tehran, Iran

Abbas Ali Hatami was born in Tehran, Iran in 1944. He graduated from the College of Dramatic Arts and began his professional career as a writer of short TV screenplays and also as a playwright. Among his plays are: The Demon and the Bald Hassan, Adam and Eve, The Fisherman's Story, City of Oranges, Talisman and Silk. He began his professional film career in 1970 by writing and directing Hassan, the bald (1970). In the following years, he developed a personal style that was characterized by melodious dialogue, traditional Iranian ambiance created through architecture and set design. His last film, World Champion Takhti, remained unfinished because of his death in 1996 due to cancer.

Where to start: Once Upon a Time in Tehran (1999).