Alireza Ghasemi

Alireza Ghasemi (; Born 1990) is an Iranian screenwriter, film director and producer. notably directing In the Land of Brothers, for which he won the Directing Award at the Sundance Film Festival.

Early life and education Ghasemi graduated from the Tehran University of Art, where he studied cinema, and later attended Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg in Germany. He is also an alumnus of the Cannes Cinema de demain (2018) and Berlinale Talents (2022).

Career Ghasemi first gained international recognition with his short film Lunch Time (2017), which was nominated for the Short Film Palme d’Or at the 70th Cannes Film Festival. He later directed and co-wrote several short films, including Better Than Neil Armstrong (2019), Extra Sauce (2020), and Solar Eclipse (2021). These works were screened at numerous film festivals and received critical acclaim for their innovative narratives and thematic depth.

Beyond filmmaking, Ghasemi has been actively involved in film festival organization. He served as the director of the 11th Nahal International Short Film Festival in 2014 and founded the Globe International Silent Film Festival in 2015. In 2021, he was appointed as the director of the Iranian Short Film Academy Awards (ISFA Awards), further contributing to the recognition of short films and filmmakers in Iran.

His debut feature, In the Land of Brothers (2024), premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and earned the Best Directing Award in the World Cinema Competition.

Filmography

Feature film

Short film

Awards & Recognition

Directing Award – World Cinema Dramatic Competition, In the Land of Brothers – Sundance Film Festival, 2024 Best Film, In the Land of Brothers – Saint-Jean-de-Luz International Film Festival, 2024 Best International Feature, In the Land of Brothers – Film Fest Sundsvall, 2024 Best Film, In the Land of Brothers – Pessac International Film Festival, 2024 Best Film, In the Land of Brothers – Carcassonne International Film Festival, 2025 Best Asian Film, In the Land of Brothers – Bengaluru International Film Festival, 2025 Golden Frog Nomination – Director’s Debuts Competition, In the Land of Brothers – Camerimage, 2024 Young Jury Award, In the Land of Brothers – Hong Kong Asian Film Festival, 2024 Young Jury Award – Youth Jury Fiction, In the Land of Brothers – FIFDH Geneva, 2025 Short Film Palme d’Or Nomination, Lunch Time – Cannes Film Festival, 2017 Best Short Film, Lunch Time – Nashville Film Festival, 2017 Best International Short Film, Better than Neil Armstrong – Pune International Film Festival (India), 2020 Best Screenplay, Extra Sauce – Canberra Short Film Festival, 2019 Best International Short Film, Solar Eclipse – Minimalen Short Film Festival, 2021 Special Jury Award, Solar Eclipse – Yerevan Short Film Festival, 2021 Best Short Film, Solar Eclipse – Kraljevski Filmski Festival, 2021