Iranian writer and filmmaker Ebrahim Golestan, a pioneering figure in modern cinema and literature in Iran, has died in Sussex, UK, at the age of 100, his family has announced. Born on October 19, 1922 in Shiraz, southern Iran, Gulistan left an indelible mark on the 20th century film and literary scene in his native country.
“Dad, you left us. Farewell!”, wrote his daughter Lili on Instagram on Wednesday evening, accompanying these words with a photo of the filmmaker. In 1957, Ebrahim Golestan gave birth to Iran’s first film studio, to produce his very first feature film, The Brick and the Mirror, seven years later. This satirical work, depicting Iranian society, initiated the rise of the new Iranian cinematographic wave. In 1974, he directed The Mysteries of the Treasure of the Valley of Ghosts, adapted from his eponymous novel, in which he took a critical look at the modernization undertaken by the Shah’s regime.
In parallel, Gulistan wrote several novels and short stories, often influenced by the giants of American literature such as Ernest Hemingway and William Faulkner.
After the Islamic Revolution of 1979, he drew a line under his career and took up residence in London where he led a reclusive life. In 2022, the filmmaker appeared in the documentary On Friday, Robinson, dialoguing by screen with the Franco-Swiss filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard. His son Kaveh, a renowned photojournalist, lost his life in 2003 following the explosion of a mine in northern Iraq.
See you Friday, Robinson by Mitra Farahani in 2022, dialogue by Jean-Luc Godard and Ebrahim Golestan, Special Jury Prize Berlin 2022…