Mini biography

Khosrow Haritash (1932, Tehran - 1980, Tehran)

Khosrow Haritash was a prominent Iranian Writer - director in the years before the Iranian revolution (1979).

He worked both as actor, assistant director and composer in iranian cinema before 1979. 

He studied cinema in America and also made some films there. His films include Adamak (1971), and Saraydar (The Custodian, 1976), Malakout (The Divine One, 1976), Berehne ta zohr ba sorat (Speeding naked till high noon, 1976).

After graduating from UCLA with a degree in cinema and living in America for a few years, during which he made several short films, including Cocoon and A Sound Mind, and A Sound Body, as well as collaborating with American filmmaker Gordon Parks on the film Tree of Knowledge, he returned to Iran. During these years, he wrote articles and reviews in film magazines of the time, such as Setareh Cinema and Cinema Azad.

He began working as an assistant to Iranian film directors in 1961, including in Zarbat / The Strike (produced by Ajirfilm Studios in 1964), where he was assistant to director Samuel Khachikian. After this, Haritash went back to the United States and continued his filmmaking experiences there.

The Custodian / Saraydar, his 1976 film, based on Animal Comedy, a book written by Hassan Ali Sharifi Mehr, dealt with the gap and confrontation between two generations, and with poverty and deprivation in the south and the peripheral areas of Tehran.

His other film from the same year The Divine One / Malakout (1976), is a long, philosophical, and symbolic work that Haritash made based on a story by the Iranian author Bahram Sadeghi. Sadeghi's story was a very special one, and Haritash created a special and critically acclaimed movie from it. However, this film, which was produced by the Iranian Film Industries Development Organization, was only screened once at the 5th Tehran International Film Festival and was never shown to the public.

After The Divine One, Haritash only found the opportunity to make a short film called Be Yaad (1977), which was a tribute to the aforementioned declining traditions of this country. This film was produced by the Ministry of Arts and Culture and won the Best Short Film Award at the 6th Tehran International Film Festival.

Khosrow Haritash died in Tehran in January 1980 due to heart disease. He spent the last two years of his life teaching cinema at the Faculty of Dramatic Arts.

Awards and Honors

Winner of the Honorary Diploma for Best Director for Malakout (The Divine One) at the 5th Tehran International Film Festival (Competition Section) - 1976

Director - Selected filmography

1. The Divine One | Malakout (1976)
   
2. The Custodian | Saraydar (1976)
   
3. Speeding Naked Till High Noon | Berehne ta zohr ba sorat (1976)
   
4. Adamak (1971)