Mahmoud Shoolizadeh

Mahmoud Shoolizadeh (born in Abadan, Iran) is a film director, film producer, screenwriter, actor and a film festival judge at several international film festivals.http://photos.jacksonville.com/mycapture/enlarge.asp?image=36626286 He has been involved in the production of over fifty films, including long feature films, short films, documentaries, and fictionhttps://voyagejacksonville.com/interview/meet-mahmoud-shoolizadeh-of-32205. He has been the recipient of several awards including best film at the 49th Taormina International Film Festival for Noora, best short fiction film at Hollywood Cinerockom International Film Festival for The Prisoner, best film at 15th Moondance International Film Festival and 10th Voyage Studios at the Flagler International Film Festival http://flaglerfilmfestival.com/2015-winners/ for The Debt, best director and best feature film for kids at Madrid's The Kids Film Festival, best American film at Toronto International Film Festival, best feature film at Melbourne's Phoenix International Film Festival, best feature film and best drama at the American Global Independent Film Awards for Daddy, best fiction half-length film at Venezuela's Five Continents International Film Festival for The Lover. In his acting career he has played the lead role in long length movies such as The Lover of Koochak (1987) directed by Farock Ansari, and The Puppet Bride (1997) directed by Hojjatollah Seifi. He has been a final judge as part of a film festival panel of jurors nationally and internationally including at the Gwinnett Center International Film Festival in Duluth Georgia, Amelia Island International Film Festival in Florida, Startfest Film Festival in Orlando Florida,http://www.studentartfestival.org/judging/judges-profiles Red Dirt International Film Festival in Stillwater Oklahoma, 48 Hour Film Project in Jacksonville Florida, WideScreen Film & Music Video Festival,http://www.thebahamasweekly.com/publish/entertainment/WideScreen_Film_and_Video_Festival_announces_Judges_Panel39993.shtml Texas Cinemania International Film Festival 2016http://houfestival.com/judges/jury-2016/ and 2017,http://houfestival.com/judges/judges-2017/ Southeast Regional Film Festival,https://www.serfilmfestival.com/ Harvard College International Film Festival, Jacksonville Dance Film Festival,http://www.jacksonvilledancefilmfestival.org/adjudication-panel and American Golden Picture International Film Festival.
==Early Life and Background==
Shoolizadeh was born in Abadan, Iran. He is one of eight children of an oil field worker in Iran, however it was clear early in life that he wouldn’t follow his father’s path as he became obsessed with American movies, and dreamed of making movies of his own. http://www.jacksonville.com/news/20181216/send-my-message-to-all-people
In 1984 he enrolled at the College of Cinema and TV in Tehran where he studied filmmaking. During his college years he directed two movies including: 
End. A fiction film directed in 1984. The film is about children who live near the railways and their lives being full of ups and downs. This film displays the story of a child who lives in south of Tehran during times of social upheaval.
Green Faces, Burnt Bodies. A documentary directed in 1985. The film is about life and death of trees during wars. At the end, the green leaves of the plants shoot out and once again the trees blossom and life begins again.
Shoolizadeh also began work as an actor while in college, in a feature film called The Lover of Koochak. In 1988 he worked with Mohammadreza Bozorgnia director of Angelica Ship as script supervisor, gaining experience working in the director’s team for him as second feature narrative film. He eventually moved first to London, United Kingdom, and eventually to Florida, United States, evolving his cinematic style.
== Career==
In post-revolution Tehran he started to make fiction short and documentary films including a series entitled Culture and Scientific treasuries and another series entitled Nations Cultures, which were documentaries on the cultures of England, France, Netherlands, Belgium, Ethiopia, Sudan, Senegal, Guinea, Kenya and Mali. The series Nations Cultures was the first series entirely produced outside of Iran, 1994-1997.
He produced, wrote, and directed Religious Toolmaker, a fictional documentary film in 1991. The story revolves around a toolmaker who wishes to create the religious tools of different shapes and patterns for the religious festival Day of Ashura. During the film, the process of making religious tools of the mourning ceremonies is shown.
Other series included the documentary series on A City Surrounded by Mountains in 1988, the documentary series on One Land, Five Nations in 1989, the documentary series on The Textbooks and The World Intellectuals in 1990. 
Documentaries made included The Noon of the 10th Day and The Bitter Dawn in 1988.
File:Mahmoud shoolizadeh in taormina festival.jpg|thumb|Film director Mahmoud Shoolizadeh being introduced to the audience at the Taormina International Film Festival 2003
Noora (The Kiss of Life) was his first feature length fiction film that he wrote and directed in 2002, participated in many major international film festivals and won several awards. 
Shoolizadeh tried to utilize unique and artistic visual and technical elements that are suitable for the contents of the story. Using minimum dialogue and transferring the sense of suspense by image, using nature to transfer the concepts, producing a natural, real and live environment which are his goals in making this film. With his first feature film, he achieved several prestigious international awards and participations including:
The Best Feature Film at the 49th International Film Festival in Taormina, Italy in June 2003 Best film award of the Audience, for the film Noora in International Film Festival of TaorminaTaormina Film Festival official website, showing the award winners (Noora is on 3rd paragraph on the left column), and two awards for best Composing and best Set Design at the 6th House of the Cinema Celebration in Tehran, Iran in 2002 . Also it won the best Screenplay and best Child Actress in the 16th Isfahan Children International Film Festival in Isfahan, Iran in Oct 2001 International Film Festival for Children and Youth, and award for Best Director at the 4th Sima Film Festival (Iran TV) in Tehran in October 2003 and many more awards from different international film festivals around the world. 
In 2000 Shoolizadeh was invited to play as a lead role in a feature narrative long film called The Puppet Bride directed by Hojatolla Saifi. 
He has written several movie scripts including Poet of Life and Love (2009), My Homeland (2008), Forgotten (2007), The Migration of Love (2004), and Noora (2001).Overview; article; The New York Times
In 2002 Mahmoud Shoolizadeh moved to London, United Kingdom and produced and directed films over the next few years there including: A man called Brian and Homeless, both of which were documentaries produced in 2005 and 2006. He had also made a previous TV series in London in a previous stay, entitled Studying in the Modern World a documentary in 1997.
In 2010 Mahmoud Shoolizadeh moved to Florida, United States where he continued directing, producing, and editing several short and long length narrative films including:
The Prisoner, a short fiction film from 2013 which participated in several major international film festivals, including the Montreal World Film Festival, and East Lansing Film Festival.http://elff.festivalgenius.com/2013/films/theprisoner_mahmoudshoolizadeh_elff2013#reviews Although the movie is based in Florida, it was totally shot in Coastal Georgia. It won Best Short Film Award and Best Supporting Actor Award at Hollywood CineRocKom International Film Festival,http://members.jacksonville.com/news/georgia/2014-04-20/story/movie-producers-are-rolling-camera-ready-camden-county-thanks-coastal and won Honorable Mention Jury Award at Indie Fest USA International Film Festival. It also became a nominee for Best Director at Hollywood CineRocKom International film festival as well as Best Lead Actor and Best Supporting Actor at Red Dirt International Film Festival The film has been discussed in local Newspapers and Magazines.
The Debt (2014 film)|The Debt, a short fiction film produced in 2014, based in the city of Jacksonville, Florida, it was filmed in St. Mary's, Georgia and parts of Jacksonville. Jackson, Gordon (2014-03-24). "Director Returning to Camden to Shoot Second Short Movie." The Brunswick News. Retrieved 2020-06-23.
The Debt participated in several international film festivals and won several awards. Best Film at the 15th "Moondance International Film Festival, Sep 2014", Boulder, Colorado, USA . Best Female Actor at the 15th "Moondance International Film Festival Sep 2014", Boulder, Colorado, USA . Best 10th Voyage Studios at the "Flagler International Film Festival", Palm Coast, Florida, USA, January 2015. Best Supporting Actress at the North Carolina "First in Aviation" State's Global Film Festival, January 2015, North Carolina, USA. Best Child Actor at the North Carolina "First in Aviation" State's Global Film Festival, January 2015, North Carolina, USA.
Daddy, a feature fiction film from 2015 filmed in St. Mary's, Georgia participated in several international film festivals and has won several awards. Several local and national newspapers have published articles and discussed this film in detail, as it has been nominated for 8 awards in different categories and received 6 awards out of 11 nominations in the "Global Independent Film Awards" in the USA, in Aug 2015.
Daddy was officially accepted to 30 International Film Festivals and received 41 Awards and Nominations.
The Lover, a fiction film produced in 2016, officially accepted to 30 International Film Festivals and has won and received 14 Awards and Nominations.
Susan a feature film (Director, Producer, Writer, and Editor), 2018. A story of love and war, a full length feature social drama revolving around a loving wife and mother named Susan. Set in London, England, where the family live, Susan is struggling with the daily reality of losing her husband Paul, who was fighting in Afghanistan. Despite her suffering, she tries to stay strong for her young daughter, Lisa. This love strengthens her and keeps her hope alive despite the emotional pain of their new situation. Over the course of the film, further traumatic events push Susan deeper into despair, although she fights hard to stay strong and keep the love for her family alive. While she is alone, full of pain and misery, one unexpected moment happens which is just the beginning.
Susan has officially been accepted to 36 International Film Festivalshttps://nycinfest.com/official-selection-2019/ and has won and received 34 Awards and Nominations including Best UK Narrative-Feature film at the London International Motion Picture Awards, London, United Kingdom in May 2019, Best International Feature Film at the "Olympus International Film Festival - Los Angeles", California, USA, July 2019. Best Feature Film at the Mediterranean Film Festival Cannes, Cannes, France in November 2019. Best Drama Film, Best Director and Best Editing Feature Film at the Five Continents International Film Festival, Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela in November 2018, and Best Feature Fiction Film at Branson Film Festival in Missouri, United States in 2019.
== Filmography == 
Filmography
Year 	Title 	Credited as 	Film type 	Notes
1984 	End 	Writer and Director 	Fiction film 	
1985 	Green Faces, Burnt Bodies 	Writer and Director 	Fiction film 	
1988 	The Bitter Dawn 	Writer and Director 	Fiction film 	
1988 	The Noon of the 10th Day 	Writer, Director and Researcher 	Documentary 	
1988 	A City Surrounded by Mountains 	Writer, Director and Researcher 	Documentary Series 	
1988 	One Land, Five Nations 	Writer, Director and Researcher 	Documentary Series 	
1990 	The Textbooks 	Writer, Director and Researcher 	Documentary Series 	
1990 	The World Intellectuals 	Writer, Director and Researcher 	Documentary Series 	
1991 	Religious Toolmaker 	Writer, Director, Researcher, and Producer 	Docudrama 	The story of a toolmaker who wishes to prepare the religious tools of different shapes and patterns in the next four days and make them ready for the festival Day of Ashura.
1994-1997	Nations Cultures 	Writer, Director and Researcher 	Documentary Series 	Including the cultures of England, France, Netherlands, Belgium, Ethiopia, Sudan, Senegal, Guinea, Kenya and Mali.
1996 	Culture and Scientific treasuries	Writer, Director and Researcher 	Documentary Series 	
1997 	Studying in the Modern World 	Writer, Director and Researcher 	Documentary Series 	
2002 	Noora 	Writer and Director 	Feature length fiction film	variety.com's review of the film Noora
2005 	A man called Brian 	Writer, Director, Producer, Cinematographer, and Editor	Documentary 	
2006 	Homeless 	Writer, Director, Producer, Editor, and Cinematographer	Documentary 	
2010 	Falcon's Blood Diamond 	Director, Cinematographer, and Actor 	Short fiction film 	
2013 	The Prisoner 	Director and Editor 	Short fiction film 	
2014 	The Debt 	Co-writer, Director, Producer, and Editor 	Short fiction film 	
2015 	Daddy 	Co-writer, Director, Producer, and Editor 	Feature fiction film 	
2016 	The Lover 	Co-writer, Director, Producer, and Editor 	Fiction film 	
2018 	Susan 	Director, Producer, Writer, and Editor 	Feature film 	
== Awards and honors==
Awards and Honors
Title 	Year	Award 	Film Festival 	Location
Noora 	2001	Best Script and Special Appreciation 	16th International Children and Youth Film Festival 	Isfahan, Iran
Noora 	2003	Best Director 	4th Cima Festival (Iran TV) 	Tehran, Iran
Noora 	2003	Best Feature Film 	3rd Azra Film Festival 	Tehran, Iran
Noora 	2003	Award of the audience - Best Feature Film	49th International Film Festival of Taormina 	Taormina, Italy
A man called Brian	2004	Best Director of Documentary Films 	2nd Festival of TV production of IRIB at the Foreign Bureoux 	Tehran, Iran
The Prisoner 	2013	Honorable Mention Jury Award 	Indie Fest USA International Film Festival 	United States
The Prisoner 	2013	Best short fiction film 	Hollywood Cinerockom International Film Festival 	Los Angeles, California, United States
The Debt 	2014	Best Film 	15th Moondance International Film Festival 	Boulder, Colorado, United States
The Debt 	2015	Best Film 	10th Voyage Studios at the Flagler International Film Festival 	Palm Coast, Florida, United States
Daddy 	2015	Best Production Design 	Global Independent Film Awards 	Online
Daddy 	2015	Best Screenplay 	Global Independent Film Awards 	Online
Daddy 	2015	Best Drama 	Global Independent Film Awards 	Online
Daddy 	2015	Best Feature Film 	Global Independent Film Awards 	Online
Daddy 	2015	Best Feature Film 	Phoenix International Film Festival 	Melbourn, Australia
Daddy 	2015	Best American Film 	Toronto International Film Festival 	Toronto, Canada
Daddy 	2016	Best Children's Film 	Los Angeles World International Film Festival, Los Angeles, California, USA	Los Angeles, California, United States
Daddy 	2016	Best Feature Film for Kids 	The Kids Film Festival 	Madrid, Spain
Daddy 	2016	Best Director 	The Kids Film Festival 	Madrid, Spain
The Lover 	2017	Best Fiction Half-Length Film 	Five Continents International Film Festival 	Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela
The Lover 	2017	Best Poster 	Five Continents International Film Festival 	Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela
The Lover 	2017	Best Story 	Red Corner Film Festival 	Sweden
Susan 	2018	Best Drama Feature Film 	Five Continents International Film Festival 	Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela
Susan 	2018	Special Mention Director 	Five Continents International Film Festival 	Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela
Susan 	2018	Best Editing Feature Film 	Five Continents International Film Festival 	Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela
Susan 	2019	Best Feature Fiction Film 	Branson International Film Festival 	Branson, Missouri, United States
Susan 	2019	Best International Feature Film 	Olympus International Film Festival 	Los Angeles, California, United States
Susan 	2019	Best UK Narrative-Feature film 	London International Motion Picture Awards 	London, United Kingdom
Susan 	2019	Best Feature Film 	Under The Stars International Film Festival, Fellini Edition 	Bari, Italy
Susan 	2019	Best Director 	Eurasian Creative Guild Film Festival 	London, United Kingdom
Susan 	2019	Best Feature Film 	Mediterranean Film Festival Cannes 	Cannes, France
Category:Iranian screenwriters
Category:Iranian film directors
Category:1959 births