Mohammad Ali Sajjadi Information

Mohammad Ali Sajadi | Iranian Filmmaker, Writer, Painter, and Editor

Born: 23 November 1957, Amol, Iran
Profession: Director, Screenwriter, Producer, Editor, Painter, Writer, Set and Costume Designer
Fields of Work: Cinema, Theater, Documentary Filmmaking, Painting, Literature

Early Life and Artistic Beginnings

Mohammad Ali Sajadi was born in November 23, 1957 in Amol, Iran. He started his artistic journey with painting and calligraphy and later ventured into filmmaking in the late 1970s through the Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults (Kanoon). He later continued his career in Iran’s Free Cinema movement.

In 1979, he entered journalism and collaborated with Ettela’at newspaper, where his interviews with figures such as Bozorg Alavi received widespread attention.

Entry into Cinema and Rise to Fame

His first feature film, “Interrogation of a Crime” (1983), is recognized as one of the best Iranian crime-police films. In the 2000s, he gained further recognition with films like “Ethereal” (2001) and “Crime” (2003), the latter earning him a nomination for Best Director at the Cairo Film Festival and the Best Director Award at the 7th Iranian Cinema Celebration.

Filmography

Director

• “The Blind Owl” (2021, unreleased)
• “Sudabeh” (2019, also producer)
• “Divorce Me Because of the Cats” (2017)
• “Rehearsal for Performance” (2015, inspired by Shahnameh)
• “Predicament” (2007)
• “The Deceiver” (2004)
• “Bewildered” (2004)
• “Crime” (2003, winner of the House of Cinema Award)
• “Ethereal” (2001)
• “The Color of Night” (2000)
• “Infatuated” (1999, Best Film from the Critics and Writers Association)
• “Actor” (1998)
• “The Legend of Meh Palang” (1991)
• “Gezal” (1989)
• “Interrogation of a Crime” (1983, first feature film)

Screenwriter

• “Divorce Me Because of the Cats” (2017)
• “Ethereal” (2001, nominated for Best Screenplay at the House of Cinema)
• “Crime” (2003)
• “Bewildered” (2004)
• “Actor” (1998)

Editor

• “Divorce Me Because of the Cats” (2017)
• “Predicament” (2007, winner of Best Editing at the Fajr Film Festival)
• “Ethereal” (2001)
• “The Color of Night” (2000)
• “Infatuated” (1999)

Producer

• “Sudabeh” (2019, unreleased)
• “Ethereal” (2001)
• “Infatuated” (1999)
• “The Legend of Meh Palang” (1991)

Awards and Honors

• Special Jury Prize at the Horror Film Festival, USA (Sudabeh, 2022)
• Bronze Award at the Los Angeles Independent Short Film Festival (Bestor, 2021)
• Best Editing Honor at the Fajr Film Festival (Predicament, 2007)
• Nominee for Best Director at the Cairo Film Festival (Crime, 2003)
• Golden Statuette for Best Director at the House of Cinema Awards (Crime, 2002)
• Nominee for Best Screenplay at the House of Cinema Awards (Ethereal, 2001)
• Nominee for Best Editing at the Fajr Film Festival (Actor, 1999)

Documentary Filmmaking & Animation

Documentaries

• “In the Slaughterhouse of Love” (1982)
• “Trilogy in the Ink of Mystery” (1994, including Museum, Sialk, and Khatozin)
• “Our Eternal Neighbor” (2018)
• “Still on the Road” (2021)
• “On the Wings of Myth” (2025)

Animated Films

• “The Blind Owl” (2021, based on Sadegh Hedayat’s novel, winner of the Montreal Animation Festival)
• “The Black Gem” (2023, winner of the Santa Monica Animation Festival)
• “Zal and Rudabeh” (2024, based on Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh)
• “Bestor” (2021, short film based on Shahnameh and Yadegar-e-Zariran)

Painting, Literature, and Exhibitions

In addition to filmmaking, Mohammad Ali Sajadi is active in painting and visual arts. His exhibitions include:

• “Raga Vase”
• “Siyavash’s Fire”
• “Woman, Pomegranate, Cat”

Books & Literary Works

• “Daghestan”
• “Dialogue”
• “Who Killed Roja?”
• “Signs”
• “Three Loving Ants and Grown from Stone”
• “How Much Longer Until Arrival?”
• “Cinema History in My Words or Cinema as We See It”

Audiobooks (Navin Ketab Audio Publisher)

• “My Heart Beats for You!” (Poetry, narrated by the poet, music by Karen Homayounfar)
• “Okay, Go Ahead and Kill!” (Narrated by Georges Petrosian)
• “Anxieties of a Lover” (Narrated by M.A. Sajadi & Mehrdad Oskouei)
• “How Much Longer Until Arrival?” (Narrated by Masoud Rayegan)