Mohammad Reza Aslani

Writing

Mohammad Reza Aslani

Born December 9, 1943 · Rasht, Iran (age 82)

Mohammad Reza Aslani was born in Rasht, Iran, in 1943 and graduated in Art and painting from Teheran’s Faculty of decorative arts. He spent his filmmaking training in the Ministry of Culture. Aslani started his professional carrier in cinema in 1967 with the documentary film “Hasanlu Cup”, and then worked with another project “Child and exploitation (1982)”, a documentary made with the aim of…

Known For

Our Cultural HeritageOur Cultural Heritage · 1972
Our Cultural Heritage
1972
MovieDocumentary
Aslani takes us on a mesmerizing journey through Iran’s archaeological sites of Chogha Zanbil, Kerman, Damghan, Yazd, and Kerman, narrating the tale of the Sufi mystic Daghoughi through a 13th-century poem by Rumi. The Pahlavi Ministry of Culture, expecting a far more conventional documentary, kept the film from being shown. It was only in 2024, when Aslani set out to digitize the film, that he discovered two reels had been lost. MoMA presents the world-premiere of Aslani’s re-edited version, which seeks to recapture the meditative flow of his original work despite its missing sequences.
Hands of HegmatanehHands of Hegmataneh · 2002
Hands of Hegmataneh
2002
MovieDocumentary
A documentary about the city of Ecbatana, now called Hamadan.
The Garden of StonesThe Garden of Stones · 1976
The Garden of Stones
6.51976
MovieDocumentary
Secrets and mysteries lose power when they are spread too widely. This is what the villagers discover when they invade an old man's vision-inspired shrine to the namelessly holy.
Chess of the WindChess of the Wind · 1976
Chess of the Wind
7.11976
MovieDramaMystery
The first lady of a noble house has died and now there is conflict between the remainders for taking over her heritage.
The Morning of the Fourth DayThe Morning of the Fourth Day · 1973
The Morning of the Fourth Day
6.01973
MovieActionDrama
A free adaptation from Godard's Breathless that follows Amir, a foul guy who has killed a man in Abadan. He returns to Tehran and continuing his misdeeds trying to convince his girlfriend Zarry to escape with him to the south of Iran.
Abu Rayhan BiruniAbu Rayhan Biruni · 1970
Abu Rayhan Biruni
1970
MovieDocumentary
Documentry of Abu Rayhan Biruni (973-ca. 1050) the Great Persian Scientist.
The MongolsThe Mongols · 1973
The Mongols
7.51973
MovieHistoryDrama
A director of a television series on the history of cinema, who has been grappling with the screenplay of his first feature film, receives an assignment to oversee the installation of a television relay station in a remote region of Zahedan province. He has already hired Turkmen tribespeople for his film and selected his filming location. Meanwhile his wife, who is working on her Ph.D. dissertation about the Mongol invasion of Iran, attempts to dissuade him from accepting the assignment. One night, while working on his history of the cinema series, the director fantasizes a diegetic world that consists of clever juxtapositions of his different worlds: the history of cinema, the history of the mongol invasion, his own film idea and his imminent assignment to the desert.
TarikhanehTarikhaneh · 1975
Tarikhaneh
1975
MovieDocumentary
A documentary about the ancient Tarikhane Mosque of Damghan

Filmography

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The MongolsThe Mongols · 1973
The Mongols
7.51973
MovieHistoryDrama
A director of a television series on the history of cinema, who has been grappling with the screenplay of his first feature film, receives an assignment to oversee the installation of a television relay station in a remote region of Zahedan province. He has already hired Turkmen tribespeople for his film and selected his filming location. Meanwhile his wife, who is working on her Ph.D. dissertation about the Mongol invasion of Iran, attempts to dissuade him from accepting the assignment. One night, while working on his history of the cinema series, the director fantasizes a diegetic world that consists of clever juxtapositions of his different worlds: the history of cinema, the history of the mongol invasion, his own film idea and his imminent assignment to the desert.

Dialogue

Tehran, A Conceptual ArtTehran, A Conceptual Art · 2012
Tehran, A Conceptual Art
2012
MovieDocumentary
This film is a modern rendition of a long tradition of so-called “symphonies of a metropolis”. The glassy facades of this city’s skyscrapers reflecting the passing by people of its diverse districts, shown in the reflection of distorted mirrors, symbolically depict the Spirit of a metropolis, as if it lives in its own shadows and reflections. This distorted reflection of Tehran comes together with modern verses of a poet who was known as the Poet of Tehran after publishing his illustrious cycle of poems about Tehran in the 60s. As a flâneur, the poet himself saunters around this city -through his voice/poem/memory- reflecting upon the reflections of old/modern monuments, sculptures, statues etc. of this giant metropolis.

Director