Mehrdad Oskouei

Mehrdad Oskouei (Persian: مهرداد اسکویی; born in Tehran, Iran in 1969) is an Iranian independent film producer, film director, screenwriter of documentary films and film educator. Iranian filmmaker, photographer, film producer, and researcher. MFA in film directing from the Department of Film and Theater of Tehran University of Fine Arts. Most of his films have been shown at prestigious festivals both national and international with many receiving critical acclaim. His films being shown at over 500 national and international film festivals in over 70 countries and having won over 145 awards makes him one of the most outstanding Iranian documentary makers. In 2010, Oskouei received the Prince Claus Award from the Netherlands for his achievements.Oskouei has attended various international film festival studies programs including The Berlinale Talent Campus, The German Academy of Fine Arts, The International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam Academy (IDFAcademy) as well as film workshop in France, England, Poland, Switzerland, the UAE and (Germany) under such esteemed filmmakers as: Albert Maysles, Richard Leacock, Abbas Kiarostami, Frederick Wiseman, Ross McElwee, Werner Herzog, Wim Wenders, Anthony Minghella, Michel Chion, Amir Naderi, and Walter Murch. The Visual Heritage Center of Iran was founded in 2011 by Oskouei along with the cooperation of researchers in various fields. The heritage's activities are centered on historical photographs and post cards of Iran.

In 2010, Oskouei received the lifetime achievement in documentary making from the Iranian Documentary Filmmakers Association at the House of Cinema awards ceremony. In January 2015, The Gilan province Islamic Cultural Center awarded him for his archival research and pictorial history of their province. Oskouei directed the Iranian Cultural Special Documentary Committee from 2004 until 2008. His film The Last Days of Winter was screened in France in 2013 and his latest film "Starless Dreams" was screened in France, England, Switzerland, the United States, and Japan in 2017 and 2018. He was a founding member of the Institute of Anthropology and Culture, where he interviewed many prominent Iranian and foreign filmmakers and artists.In 2016, Oskouei was awarded the Amnesty International Prize at the Berlinale (an award he shared with the festival's Golden Bear winner, Fire at Sea). He also had been honoring as the recipient of the festival's True Vision Award at True/False Film Fest in Missouri as the best documentary filmmaker of the year 2016.Oskouei has been a judge at 130 renowned film festivals such as: CPH Docs (Denmark), Jean Rouch international film festival (France), Kraków International Film Festival (Poland), Tehran International Short Film Festival (Iran) and Cinema Verite international film festival (Iran), as well as being a cultural ambassador for the United Nation's humanitarian committee UCHA. Oskouei is also on the boards of; Iranian Short Film Association, Documentary Filmmakers of Iran, The National Iranian Photographers Association, European Documentary Network EDN, International Documentary Association IDA. He also teaches at film schools around Iran as well as being active in the Tehran Arts and Culture Association. Oskouei has been awarded many prizes. Here is a partial list; The icon from IDFA Netherlands,The Reva and David Logan Grand Jury Award & Full Frame Inspiration Award, Human right award in Berlin film festival, Icon for best film at Hot Docs festival/ Canada, Golden Dragon award best film, Kraków Festival, Best Documentary at Munich/Germany, Best film Documentary Festival Montreal/ Canada.

Starless dreams is ranked above many films of prominent directors. American news and culture paper The Village Voice ranked the documentary 7th Among Village Voice Top 25 Films.

Meanwhile, the movie gained 85 scores out of 100 on the metacritic movie websiteOskoeui was the subject of a retrospective at New York's Anthology Film Archives, 2018. It included Starless Dreams, his medium-length films Nose, Iranian Style, The Other Side of Burka, The Last Days of Winter and It's Always Late for Freedom, and four shorts. This is the most complete series devoted to his work in the United States so far.