Noor Film Festival (NFF), founded in 2005 by Siamak Ghahremani, is an international event, with the goal of educating and informing the non-Iranian community about the culture and heritage of Iranians around the world through the medium of cinema. The Festival also cultivates and promotes Iranian-American talent in Hollywood.

The 4th annual Noor Film Festival will be held at UCL “James Bridges Theater” located in 102 East Melnitz Hall, Los Angeles, CA 90095 from August 5th till August 7th 2011. Click here to see Noor Film Festival official selections and screening schedule.

Aptly named “Noor,” meaning “light” in Persian, the Noor Film Festival (NFF) makes reference to the key element of “light” used in the art of filmmaking as well as the festival’s purpose to “shed light” on Iranian culture and heritage.

2007 marked NFF’s inaugural year and its Red Carpet Debut on February 1, established it as the first Iranian Film Festival to occur outside of Iran. The first NFF focused on the theme of “Tolerance” and received over 400 submissions from Iranians around the world.

Much of this success can be attributed to the strong support of both the Iranian and non-Iranian communities which united in a positive atmosphere celebrating Iranian culture and heritage.

Extensive media coverage by international outlets helped capture the excitement and spark new interest for cinematic contributions from Iranian filmmakers. The first panel of esteemed judges included Natasha Henstridge, Maz Jobrani, Harry J. Lennox, Shaun Toub and Kyle Secor. Through their active participation and the encouragement of all involved, subsequent Noor Film Festivals continue to enlighten and inspire attendees.

Utilizing the same format, the 2nd Annual Noor Film Festival took place in May of 2008 with submissions centered on the theme of “Celebrating Women.” Honored judges included Rainn Wilson, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Reza Badiyi, Omid Djalili and Ever Carradine.

The 3rd Annual Noor Film Festival occurred in May of 2009 and featured submissions highlighting the theme of “Generations.” In addition to screening selected films, Director Reza Badiyi, who holds the record for the most hours of TV directed by the Directors Guild of America, was honored with a lifetime achievement award. Mr Baditi’s work includes: The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Hawaii Five-O, Mission: Impossible, The Dick Van Dyke Show, Baywatch, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Falcon Crest, T.J. Hooker, The Incredible Hulk and The Six Million Dollar Man. Acclaimed judges included Brooke Adams, Esai Morales, Habib Zargarpour, Rudi BakhtiaNorwayr and Ali Pourtash.

Join us this summer as we present the 4th Annual Noor Film Festival to continue spreading awareness of Iranian cinema.



Announcing the 4th Annual Noor Film Festival Official Film Selections:
1994 (made in 2011), direct by Kaveh Tehrani, submited from Norway
A Conversation to Remember (2011) direct by Piran Zarifian from USA
A Reluctant Bride (2010) direct by Shideh Faramand from Australia
American Coup (2010) direct by Joe Ayella from USA
And Life Went On (2011) direct by Maryam Mohajer from UK
Beyond King of the Mountain (2010) directed by Ryan & Leyla Haidarian from Africa
Chasing Che (2010) directed by Alireza Rofougaran from Iran
Circumstance (2011) directed by Maryam Keshavarz from USA
Confession (2010) directed by Daneal Davani from USA
Diplomacy (2010) direct by Jon Goldman from USA
Dollhouse (2010) direct by Shabnam Piryaei from USA
Fahimeh’s Story (2010) direct by Faramarz K. Rahbar from Australia
Kick in Iran (2011) direct by Fatima Abdollahyan from Germany
Letters to the President (2010) direct by Petr Lom from Greece
Liberation (2010) direct by Michael Younesi from USA
Little Tale of Us (2010) direct by Ameneh Eslami from USA
Lost Journey (2011) directed by Ant Horasanli from Canada
Luv Deluxe (2010) directed by Saman Keshavarz from USA
Meteor Shower (2011) directed by Makan Ashouri from Iran
Miriam’s Song (2010) directed by Shabnam Piryaei from USA
Mossadegh (2011) directed by Roozbeh Dadvand from USA
Rapping in Iran (2011) directed by Hassan Khademi from Iran
Slow Down (2011) directed by Saman Yaghmai-Aledowond from USA
Spring Movements (2011) directed by Justin Mashouf from USA
The Iranian Dream (2010) directed by Shahaub R. from USA