Kyanoush Ayari
Kianoush Ayari (born May 14, 1951) is an Iranian director and screenwriter. He is famous for his realistic style and unique stories like heart transplantation in his movie To Be or Not to Be (1998) or fate of a teacher after the horrible Bam earthquake in Wake Up, Arezoo! He has received various accolades, including four Crystal Simorgh, a Hafez Award, two Iran Cinema Celebration Awards and three Iran's Film Critics and Writers Association Awards.
Also recorded as Kianoush Ayari · Kiyanoush Ayari
Kyanoush Ayari
Mohammad Hassanzadeh · Tasnim News Agency · CC BY 4.0
- Name
- Kianoush Ayari
- Born
- 14 May 1951
- Birthplace
- Ahvaz, Iran
- Occupation
- * Director
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Kianoush Ayari (born May 14, 1951) is an Iranian director and screenwriter. He is famous for his realistic style and unique stories like heart transplantation in his movie To Be or Not to Be (1998) or fate of a teacher after the horrible Bam earthquake in Wake Up, Arezoo! He has received various accolades, including four Crystal Simorgh, a Hafez Award, two Iran Cinema Celebration Awards and three Iran's Film Critics and Writers Association Awards.
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Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Kianoush Ayari • Native Name — کیانوش عیاری • Born — 14 May 1951 • Birthplace — Ahvaz, Iran • Occupation — * Director • screenwriter • editor • Years Active — 1970–present
Life and career
Life and career
He was born in the city of Ahvaz, southwest of Iran. Ayari started his cinematic career by making 8mm short films. His first professional movie was Tanooreyeh Div. His movie Abadani-ha won the Silver Leopard for the best Movie at Locarno Film Festival in 1994. His most controversial movie The Paternal House was screened at 69th Venice Film Festival but yet to be screened publicly in Iran as of december 2016 but was screened at a few cinemas in United States of America. Mehdi Hashemi, one of the best actors of Iranian theatre and cinema has played the main actor role in his movies for the last two decades, including: Thousand Eyes (TV Series), Roozegar-e Gharib (TV Series), The Paternal House and his latest movie Kanape.
Personal life
Personal life
His brother Dariush Ayari is a cinematographer. They collaborated in Thousand Eyes (TV Series), Roozegar-e Gharib (TV Series) and The Paternal House. On February 3, 2026, Ayari was among several figures in the Iranian film industry who signed a statement supporting the 2025–2026 Iranian protests and condemning the government's response to them.
Cinema
Cinema
• Taze-nafas-ha (1979) • Tanooreyeh Div (1985) • The Spirit of Scorpion (1986) • The Grand Day (1988) • Beyond the Fire (1990) • Two Halves of an Apple (1991) • The Abadanis (1993) • Cow's Horn (1995) • To Be or Not to Be (1998) • Iranian Spread (2002) • Wake up, Arezoo! (2004) • The Paternal House (2012) • Canape' (2016)
TV Series
TV Series
• Thousand Eyes (2003) • Roozegar-e Gharib (2007)
Awards
Here is a list of awards received by Kianoush Ayari in film festivals: • Year — Festival — Award — Nominated work — Result • 1985 — 4th Fajr Film Festival — Best Director — Tanooreyeh Div • 1987 — 6th Fajr Film Festival — Best Director — Ansuyeh Atash • 1994 — Locarno International Film Festival — Silver Leopard — Abadani-Ha • 1994 — Nantes Three Continents Festival — Golden Montgolfiere — Abadani-Ha • 1998 — Cairo International Film Festival — Best Screenplay — Boodan yaa naboodan • 1998 — Cairo International Film Festival — Golden Pyramid — Boodan yaa naboodan • 2002 — Karlovy Vary International Film Festival — Crystal Globe — Sofreh Irani • 2004 — 23rd Fajr Film Festival — Best Director — Bidar show, Arezoo! • 2004 — 23rd Fajr Film Festival — Best Art Achievement — Bidar show, Arezoo! • 2012 — Venice Film Festival — Venice Horizons Award — The Paternal House
Citations
References
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The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 17 August 2026.
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