TEHRAN – An online exhibition launched by the Film Museum of Iran on Thursday is celebrating the 76th birthday of filmmaker Ali Hatami by showcasing a collection of his rarely-seen photos and pictures of his documents and memorabilia. 

Known as the Hafez of Iranian cinema due to the native and poetic ambiance of his movies, Ali Hatami was born on August 14, 1944 in Tehran. 

He was a filmmaker, screenwriter, art director and costume designer.
 
A graduate in cinema from the College of Dramatic Arts, he began his professional career as a playwright and writer of short TV screenplays.

He wrote a number of plays such as “The Demon and Bald Hassan”, “Adam and Eve”, “The Fisherman’s Story” and “City of Oranges”.

He made his debut film, “Bald Hassan”, in 1970. Over the subsequent years, he developed a personal filmmaking style that was characterized by melodious dialogues and traditional Iranian ambiance created through architecture and set design.

Perhaps every Iranian is familiar with his TV series “Hezardastan”, which he made from 1978 to 1987. The series is regarded as an eternal work in the history of Iranian television.

Hatami died of blood cancer on December 5, 1996.

At the time of his death, he was still working on his last film “World Champion Takhti”. 

Director Behruz Afkhami was then selected to complete the film, which critics called a good thriller that failed to solve the mystery of Takhti’s death.

Celebrated actress Leila Hatami is the daughter of Ali Hatami.

Photo: Master actor Ezzatollah Entezami plants a kiss on Ali Hatami’s forehead in an undated photo.

RM/MMS/YAW