Robert Safarian (born 1954, Tehran) is an Iranian-Armenian film critic, documentary filmmaker, author, translator, researcher, and film educator. Recognized as one of Iran’s leading film critics and scholars, he has played a significant role in the development of film criticism, documentary studies, and film theory through his writings, translations, teaching, and documentary productions. His work bridges academic film studies and practical filmmaking, making him an influential figure in contemporary Iranian cinema.

Education
Diploma in Film Directing, School of Television and Cinema (1974)
B.A. in Persian Language and Literature, Payame Noor University (1995)

Activities and Works
Throughout his career, Safarian has worked as a film critic, translator, author, educator, editor, and documentary filmmaker.

He has served on the selection and jury committees of numerous Iranian film festivals, including the Kish Documentary Film Festival, the Tehran International Short Film Festival, and the Iranian Documentary Filmmakers Association. He was also editor of the World Documentary Cinema section of Cinema-Haghighat, a member of the editorial boards of Gozaresh-e Film magazine and the Armenian-language literary journal Handes, editor-in-chief of the Armenian-Persian periodical Houis, and editor of the book review website Vinish.

Between 2001 and 2003, he taught Film Analysis at Sooreh Higher Education Institute in Isfahan. He has written and translated dozens of essays and reviews on fiction and documentary cinema and has frequently appeared on Iranian radio and television as a film critic and documentary expert. Safarian was also one of the founders of Peik-e Mostanad, the first Persian-language website dedicated exclusively to documentary cinema.

His major authored books include:

Interview in Documentary Film
Abbas Kiarostami’s Cinema
Image, Cinema, Society
Living in Two Cultures: The Armenian Diaspora in Iran
The Art of Film Analysis
The Contradictions of Non-Acting and Other Essays on Abbas Kiarostami
If the Snow Never Stops Falling
This Filmmaker, Poet, Painter, Puppet Maker, Documentary Filmmaker, Storyteller, Magician: The Cinema of Sergei Parajanov
Among his notable translations are:

Semiotics of Cinema by Christian Metz
Personal Views: Explorations in Film (Robin Wood)
Film History: An Introduction by David Bordwell and Kristin Thompson
Film and Video Editing
The Life of the Author by Sarah Kozloff
A Brief History of China
A Brief History of Europe
As a documentary filmmaker, he has directed or co-directed films including:

Inversion (2006)
Double Six (2007)
Tehran in Photographs (2008)
14 Aban: The Day of Fire (2008)
Travellers of the Caspian Coast (2009)
Tehran–North (2009)
Conversation with Revolution (2011)
Between Two Migrations (2013)
A Conversation (2018)
Achievements and Honors
One of Iran’s leading film critics and documentary cinema scholars.
A major translator of influential works in film theory and film history into Persian.
Significant contributor to film education and documentary film studies in Iran.
Co-founder of Peik-e Mostanad, the first Persian-language website dedicated to documentary cinema.
Prominent researcher on Iranian-Armenian cultural identity and cinema.
Served on numerous national film festival selection and jury panels, contributing to the development of documentary and short cinema in Iran.