Hamid Rahmanian

Hamid Rahmanian is an award-¬winning filmmaker and graphic artist whose work spans two decades. He has received numerous awards for his achievements. His works have been exhibited in international festivals and competitions and have been televised on international networks, including PBS, Sundance Channel, IFC, Channel 4, BBC, DR2, and Al Jazeera.
Hamid Rahmanian obtained his B.F.A. in Graphic Design from Tehran University. He moved to the United States and earned a M.F.A. in Computer Animation in 1997 from Pratt Institute. After completing his studies, he was hired by Disney Feature Animation Company as a look development artist, where he worked on “Tarzan”, “The Emperor’s New Groove” and “Dinosaur”.
In 1998, Hamid Rahmanian left Disney and established his own production company, Fictionville Studio.
He continued working as a graphic designer in the US and has been commissioned to do work for cultural organizations and commercial companies including The United Nations, GQ Magazine, Lincoln Center, Tribeca Film Institute, Pacifica Radio/Democracy Now, Aramex, and Eurasia Foundation.
His first 35 mm short film, AN I WITHIN, received Kodak’s "Best Cinematography Award", “Best American Short” from the LA International Short Film Festival and ”Special Achievement Award” from the USA Film Festival. He went on to make three documentaries. BREAKING BREAD (2000) and SIR ALFRED OF CHARLES DE GAULLE AIRPORT (2001) were well received by the media and worldwide audiences. SHAHRBANOO (2002) first premiered on PBS station WNET where it received the highest rating for an independently produced documentary and has been broadcast on networks around the globe. His first feature length fiction film, DAY BREAK (2005) premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, went on to screen at festivals and theaters all over the world, including the Venice and Tribeca Film Festivals in 2006 and won numerous international awards. THE GLASS HOUSE (2008) a feature length documentary premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and IDFA and was the winner of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s (OSCE) Human Rights Award, among other awards. His films have been used in the NGO sector to combat negative stereotypes about Iranians, to promote anti‐capital punishment laws in the US, and to raise funds and awareness for the plights of disadvantaged women and girls around the world. In 2003, Hamid Rahmanian co-founded and was President (2004-¬‐2007) of the non¬‐profit organization – ARTEEAST -¬ its mission statement to promote the arts and cultures of the Middle East and its diasporas in the United States.
In 2009, he wrote and illustrated a graphic autobiography entitled THE MAGNIFICENT BOOK OF M. His most recent project, the illustration and adaptation of the 10th Century Persian epic poem “The Book of Kings” by Ferdowsi, entitled SHAHNAMEH: THE EPIC OF THE PERSIAN KINGS is published by Quantuck Lane Press and distributed by W. W. Norton & Company in March 2013
He lives in Brooklyn, New York.