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Bijan Daneshmand

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Bijan Daneshmand
بیژن دانشمند
Born (1958-08-16) 16 August 1958 (age 66)
Tehran, Imperial State of Iran
Education
Alma materKing's College London
Occupation(s)Actor, artist
Websitewww.bijandaneshmand.com

Bijan Daneshmand (Persian: بیژن دانشمند, born 16 August 1958) is an Iranian born-English actor and artist based in London, England.

Early life and education

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Bijan Daneshmand was born on 16 August 1958 in Tehran, Iran.[1] At the age of 10, he moved to England to receive his early education.[2]

After graduating from King's College London, he attended the London Centre for Theatre Studies and the Philippe Gaulier School in Paris to develop his acting skills. Later, he obtained an MA from Chelsea College of Arts.[3][2]

Career

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In 2004, Daneshmand produced and acted in 20 Fingers, a feature film, directed and acted by Mania Akbari.[4] In seven scenes shot by Touraj Aslani with a DV camera in a variety of long takes, the director and producer play a couple or potentially several couples who debate and argue about their relationship.[4] The film tackles taboo subjects, including homosexuality and divorce.[4] It premiered at the 61st Venice International Film Festival in 2004, where it won the Best Digital Film, Venezia Digitale.[5]

In 2006, Daneshmand wrote and directed the avant-garde film, A Snake's Tail. The Bare Bones International Film Festival in Oklahoma, United States, named this film the Best International Feature, and it was also included at the Festival Do Rio and the Frankfurt International Film Festival.[6]

In 2009, Daneshmand starred in a film, Women Without Men, directed by Shirin Neshat and Shoja Azari, and is based on the 1990 novel by Shahrnush Parsipur.[7][8] Gender-related issues in Islam and the Muslim world are discussed in the film. It received the 2009 Venice Film Festival's Silver Lion for best director.[9]

In 2011, Daneshmand acted in a short film Two & Two as a male teacher, which was directed by Babak Anvari, co-produced by Kit Fraser, and written by Babak Anvari and Gavin Cullen.[10] The 8-minute film follows Daneshmand's character, a male teacher, as he introduces the statement 2 + 2 = 5 to his young pupils. In 2011, at the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, BAFTA, it was nominated for Best Short Film.[11][12]

In 2016, Daneshmand plays the role of university director in Under the Shadow, a 2016 Persian-language psychological horror film directed by Babak Anvari. A mother and daughter had terrifying supernatural encounters in Tehran during the Iran-Iraq War of the 1980s.[13] The film's world debut took place at the Sundance Film Festival in 2016. In 2017, it was awarded with the BAFTA for Outstanding Debut.[14]

In 2021, Daneshmand wrote and directed a Persian-language web series, The Bahramis.[15]

In 2022, Daneshmand was cast as a AliReza Jamshidpour, one of the leading characters in Maryam Keshavarz's film The Persian Version.[16] The film was premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival in January 2023 as part of the U.S. Dramatic competition.[17] It took home the Waldo for Best Screenplay as well as the Audience Award.[18][19]

Daneshmand, parallel with his acting, is engaged with his fine art practice. His artwork has been exhibited and reviewed internationally at art galleries, exhibitions, and publications.[20][2]

In 1996, Daneshmand founded and launched The Leonard, an award winning boutique hotel in central London. The hotel was popular with musicians and film people.[21] William Orbit made various recordings there including works involving U2, Madonna, Pink.[22][23] In 2003, Daneshmand sold his family interest in the business, to focus entirely on his art and acting.[24]

In 2020, continuing with his fine art practice and interest in the concept of repetition, he commenced his Damavand series; a collection of over 150 works, an exploration on the theme of repetition and difference.[2]

In 2024, Daneshmand performed as the voice character of King Darius, in Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown video game by Ubisoft.[25]

Selected filmography

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Film

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List of film appearances, with year, title, and role shown
Year Title Role Reference(s)
2004 20 Fingers The Husband, The Man [26]
2005 Munich Kamal Nasser [27][28]
2006 A Snake's Tail Bijan, Kami, and Agha [29][30]
2008 Body of Lies Amman Clinic Doctor [31][32]
2009 Women Without Men Abbas [33][28]
2010 Green Zone Zubaidi's Aide [34][35]
2012 From Tehran to London Ashkan [36][37]
2016 Under the Shadow Director [38]
2020 Pari Director- Ahmadi [39]
2020 Infidel Dr. Hossein Tehrani [40][41]
2021 Mister Mayfair Ali [42]
2023 The Persian Version Ali Reza [43][44]

Television

[edit]
List of television appearances, with year, title, and role shown
Year Title Role Reference(s)
2005 Casualty Dr. Hamid Guyrat
2005 Spooks (US title: MI5) Bashir Shalhoob [45]
2007 Saddam's Tribe Journalist [46]
2008 Special Forces Heroes Salim
2009 The Omid Djalili Show Appearance [47]
2011 Page Eight Cambridge Don [48]
2015 Suspects Jamal Khan [49][28]
2016 The Night Manager Kouyami [28]
2017 Modus Mahmoud Muntasir
2018 The Looming Tower Farouq Osman
2018 Deep State Ali Ardavan [50][51]
2019 Follow the Money Abbas
2019 Traitors Abu Selim [52]
2020 EastEnders Dr Jamil
2022 Suspicion Masoud Ghorbani
2022 Tehran Dr. Kourosh Zamestani [53]
2022 House of the Dragon The Priest [54]
2023 The Diplomat Rasoul Shahin [55]

Radio

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List of radio appearances, with year and radio station shown
Title Year Radio station
Westway 2004-6 BBC World Service
April's Fool 2009 BBC World Service
The Fence 2009 BBC World Service
Spit 2009 BBC World Service
The Interview 2009 BBC Radio 4
Baghdad Burning[56] 2009 BBC Radio 4
Amazing Grace[57] 2010 BBC Radio 4
The Boy from Aleppo that Painted the War[58] 2015 BBC Radio 4
The Weapon[59] 2015 BBC Radio 4
Dan Dare[60] 2017 B7 Media
Fall of the Shah[61][62] 2019 BBC World Service drama

Awards and recognition

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References

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  1. ^ Life, Kayhan (15 September 2020). "My Damavand, 100 Paintings by Bijan Daneshmand".
  2. ^ a b c d "Infinite Truths". Meer. 30 November 2017.
  3. ^ "Bijan Daneshmand". Bijan Daneshmand.
  4. ^ a b c Young, Deborah (10 September 2004). "20 Fingers".
  5. ^ a b ""Twenty Fingers" competing in Spanish film festival". Mehr News Agency. 29 October 2004.
  6. ^ a b "iranian.com: Setareh Sabety, A review of Bijan Daneshmand's "A Snake's Tail"". iranian.com.
  7. ^ Bradshaw, Peter (10 June 2010). "Women Without Men" – via The Guardian.
  8. ^ Khaleeli, Homa (13 June 2010). "Shirin Neshat: A long way from home" – via The Guardian.
  9. ^ "Women without Men | Wexner Center for the Arts". wexarts.org.
  10. ^ "Two & Two (2011)". BFI. Archived from the original on 13 March 2023.
  11. ^ "Film in 2012 | BAFTA Awards". awards.bafta.org.
  12. ^ Grater2017-02-05T10:01:00+00:00, Tom. "Baftas 2017: How 'Under The Shadow' became a contender". Screen.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  13. ^ Rooney, David (25 January 2016). "'Under the Shadow': Sundance Review".
  14. ^ McNary, Dave (21 September 2016). "Iranian Horror Movie 'Under the Shadow' Selected as U.K. Foreign-Language Oscar Entry (EXCLUSIVE)".
  15. ^ Baker, Taryll (20 May 2021). "The Bahramis - Web Series Review". UK Film Review.
  16. ^ Felperin, Leslie (22 January 2023). "'The Persian Version' Review: An Effervescent Mother-Daughter Dramedy Spanning Decades, Continents and Cultures".
  17. ^ Vlessing, Etan (3 February 2023). "Sundance Winner 'The Persian Version' Lands at Sony Pictures Classics".
  18. ^ McPherson, Christopher (27 January 2023). "'A Thousand and One,' 'The Persian Version' & More Win Sundance Film Festival Awards". Collider.
  19. ^ "Sundance awards come with a lot of emotion, excitement". KPCW | Listen Like a Local. 27 January 2023.
  20. ^ "ORGAN THING: Unreadable, a triumph of a show that connects ten artists and a space…". 7 July 2015.
  21. ^ Ltd, Jacobs Media Group. "Prepare to enter the comfort zone". Travel Weekly.
  22. ^ "Madonna, drugs and helicopter-trained dogs: the dark, starry life of William Orbit". 19 November 2021 – via The Guardian.
  23. ^ Mossman, Kate (15 November 2022). "William Orbit: "If you confound Madonna, a red mist comes down"".
  24. ^ "Sehgals buy the Leonard". The Caterer. 8 December 2003.
  25. ^ "Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown characters". RadioTimes.
  26. ^ "20 Fingers". TVGuide.com.
  27. ^ Kolker, Robert (2011). A Cinema of Loneliness. Oxford University Press.
  28. ^ a b c d "Bijan Daneshmand". BFI. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020.
  29. ^ "iranian.com: Setareh Sabety, A review of Bijan Daneshmand's "A Snake's Tail"". iranian.com.
  30. ^ "A Snake's Tail". Cineuropa - the best of european cinema.
  31. ^ "Body of Lies". TVGuide.com.
  32. ^ "Bijan Daneshmand". prod-www.tcm.com.
  33. ^ Press, Stephen Farber, The Associated; Farber, Stephen; Press, The Associated (14 October 2010). "Women Without Men — Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  34. ^ "Green Zone". prod-www.tcm.com.
  35. ^ "Green Zone". TVGuide.com.
  36. ^ "From Tehran To London (Az Tehran Be London) | Film | The Guardian". www.theguardian.com.
  37. ^ "From Tehran to London | Film Review | The Skinny". www.theskinny.co.uk.
  38. ^ Chang, Justin (23 January 2016). "Sundance Film Review: 'Under the Shadow'".
  39. ^ "Review: Pari". Cineuropa - the best of european cinema.
  40. ^ Debruge, Peter (20 September 2020). "'Infidel' Review: Jim Caviezel, Who Once Played Jesus, Risks Martyrdom Again in Faith-Centric Thriller".
  41. ^ "Movie Review: 'Infidel'". 24 September 2020.
  42. ^ "Mister Mayfair (2021)". The A.V. Club.
  43. ^ Felperin, Leslie (22 January 2023). "'The Persian Version' Review: An Effervescent Mother-Daughter Dramedy Spanning Decades, Continents and Cultures". The Hollywood Reporter.
  44. ^ Hunter2023-01-30T10:38:00+00:00, Allan. "'The Persian Version': Sundance Review". Screen.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  45. ^ "BBC - Press Office - Spooks series four press pack credits". www.bbc.co.uk.
  46. ^ "Saddam's Tribe: Bound by Blood (2007)". Radio Times.
  47. ^ Guide, British Comedy. "The Omid Djalili Show Series 2, Episode 3". British Comedy Guide.
  48. ^ "BBC Two - Page Eight". BBC.
  49. ^ "Suspects Season 3". Radio Times.
  50. ^ "Deep State". La Repubblica. 19 August 2019.
  51. ^ "Deep State Season 1". Radio Times.
  52. ^ "Traitors Season 1". Radio Times.
  53. ^ "Tehran". La Repubblica. 27 September 2020.
  54. ^ "House of the Dragon: start date, what it's about and cast | Edinburgh News".
  55. ^ "Netflix upcoming Deborah Cahn series 'The Diplomat': Release date, cast & plot". The News International.
  56. ^ Hunt, Wayne (2 February 2009). "Baghdad Burning: The blogosphere, literature and the art of war". Arab Media & Society.
  57. ^ "BBC - Press Office - Network Radio Programme Information BBC Week 26 Monday 28 June 2010". www.bbc.co.uk.
  58. ^ "BBC Radio 4 - Saturday Drama, The Boy from Aleppo Who Painted the War". BBC.
  59. ^ "BBC Radio 4 - The Price of Oil, The Weapon". BBC.
  60. ^ "Dan Dare Cast Revealed! – B7 Media. Publisher of Audiobooks and Audio Drama".
  61. ^ "Fall Of The Shah". www.bbc.co.uk.
  62. ^ Sawyer, Miranda (3 February 2019). "The week in radio and podcasts: Fall of the Shah; How to Burn a Million Quid" – via The Guardian.
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