Kyanoush Ayari

Kianoush Ayari (; born May 14, 1951) is an Iranian director and screenwriter. He is famous for his realistic style and unique stories like heart transplantation in his movie To Be or Not to Be or fate of a teacher after the horrible Bam earthquake in Wake Up, Arezoo! (2005). He has received various accolades, including four Crystal Simorgh, a Hafez Award, two Iran Cinema Celebration Awards and three Iran's Film Critics and Writers Association Awards.

Life and career He was born in the city of Ahvaz, southwest of Iran. Ayari started his cinematic career by making 8mm short films. His first professional movie was Tanooreyeh Div. His movie Abadani-ha won the Silver Leopard for the best Movie at Locarno Film Festival in 1994. His most controversial movie The Paternal House was screened at 69th Venice Film Festival but yet to be screened publicly in Iran as of december 2016 but was screened at a few cinemas in United States of America. Mehdi Hashemi, one of the best actors of Iranian theatre and cinema has played the main actor role in his movies for the last two decades, including: Thousand Eyes (TV Series), Roozegar-e Gharib (TV Series), The Paternal House and his latest movie Kanape'''.

Personal life His brother Dariush Ayari is a cinematographer. They collaborated in Thousand Eyes (TV Series), Roozegar-e Gharib (TV Series) and The Paternal House''.

On February 3, 2026, Ayari was among several figures in the Iranian film industry who signed a statement supporting the 2025–2026 Iranian protests and condemning the government's response to them.

Filmography

Cinema Taze-nafas-ha (1979) Tanooreyeh Div (1985) The Spirit of Scorpion (1986) The Grand Day (1988) Beyond the Fire (1990) Two Halves of an Apple (1991) The Abadanis (1993) Cow's Horn (1995) To Be or Not to Be (1998) Iranian Spread (2002) Wake up, Arezoo! (2004) The Paternal House (2012) Canape' (2016)

TV Series Thousand Eyes (2003) Roozegar-e Gharib (2007)

Awards Here is a list of awards received by Kianoush Ayari in film festivals: Year Festival Award Nominated work Result 1985 4th Fajr Film Festival Best Director Tanooreyeh Div 1987 6th Fajr Film Festival Best Director Ansuyeh Atash 1994 Locarno International Film Festival Silver Leopard Abadani-Ha 1994 Nantes Three Continents Festival Golden Montgolfiere Abadani-Ha 1998 Cairo International Film Festival Best Screenplay Boodan yaa naboodan 1998 Cairo International Film Festival Golden Pyramid Boodan yaa naboodan 2002 Karlovy Vary International Film Festival Crystal Globe Sofreh Irani 2004 23rd Fajr Film Festival Best Director Bidar show, Arezoo! 2004 23rd Fajr Film Festival Best Art Achievement Bidar show, Arezoo! 2012 Venice Film Festival Venice Horizons Award The Paternal House