Shahnameh for 21 Century Audiences

Step into the Department of Drama for a presentation by Hamid Rahmanian, creator of the shadow theatre Feathers of Fire

Where: John Mitchell Building, room 161
When: Monday, October 2nd from 7:00 - 8:30 pm

Hamid Rahmanian is a 2014 John Guggenheim Fellow and was awarded the 2020 US Artist Fellowship in Performing Arts.  His work centers on theater, moving image, and graphic design.  He holds a B.F.A. from the University of Tehran in Graphic Design and an M.F.A. in Computer Animation from Pratt Institute. He received a student Emmy from the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and was nominated for a Student Academy Award for his animation, THE SEVENTH DAY in 1997. After a brief stint at Disney Feature Animation Company, he made his first film, AN I WITHIN (1999, Kodak’s Best Cinematography Award, Best American Short from the LA International Short Film Festival). Mr. Rahmanian made four documentaries: BREAKING BREAD (2000), SIR ALFRED OF CHARLES DE GAULLE AIRPORT (2001), SHAHRBANOO (2002), and THE GLASS HOUSE (2008, Sundance Film Festival, OSCE’s Human Rights Award, Best Documentary from Spain’s Television Awards). In 2003, Mr. Rahmanian co-founded ARTEEAST, an organization committed to promoting the arts and cultures of the Middle East. In 2005 he wrote and directed the narrative film DAY BREAK, which premiered at Toronto International Film Festival and was the recipient of several prestigious awards. 

 In 2013, Rahmanian turned his attention to the Persian epic poem, Shahnameh, which was written in the 10^th century as the inspiration for new work.  He created and illustrated a new 600-page edition of Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh, entitled SHAHNAMEH: THE EPIC OF THE PERSIAN KINGS (2013) published by Quantuck Lane Press. In 2014, Rahmanian delved into theater arts, working with shadows and digital media.  To date he has created four theater pieces: ZAHHAK THE LEGEND OF THE SERPENT KING (2014), MINA’S DREAM (2016, Commissioned by the Onassis Foundation), FEATEHRS OF FIRE (2016, UNIMA award-winner) which premiered at Brooklyn Academy of Music and toured across the globe, and SONG OF THE NORTH, which recently premiered at the Harvey Theater at the Brooklyn Academy of Music and is touring around the world.  In 2017, he released an immersive audiobook version of SHAHNAMEH: THE EPIC OF THE PERSIAN KINGS, with an introduction by Frances Ford Coppola.  He has created two pop up books, ZAHAAK: THE LEGEND OF THE SERPENT KING (winner of the Meggendorfer Award) and THE SEVEN TRIALS OF ROSTAM.  In 2019, Rahmanian was commissioned by the Silk Road Ensemble to create a multimedia video animation for their project, HEROS TAKE THEIR STAND, which premiered 2019.