Babak Anvari

{{Infobox person

| name = Babak Anvari

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| birth_date = 1983

| birth_place = Tehran, Iran

| nationality = Iranian
British

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| alma_mater = University of Westminster{{citation|url=http://www.thenational.ae/arts-lifestyle/film/filmmaker-babak-anvari-on-how-his-newest-film-uses-horror-to-explore-hysteria-of-iran-iraq-war|title=Filmmaker Babak Anvari on how his newest film uses horror to explore hysteria of Iran-Iraq war|author=Chris Newbould|date=9 July 2015|access-date=1 June 2017|work=The National|archive-date=4 June 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170604060557/http://www.thenational.ae/arts-lifestyle/film/filmmaker-babak-anvari-on-how-his-newest-film-uses-horror-to-explore-hysteria-of-iran-iraq-war|url-status=live}}

| occupation = {{hlist|Director|Writer|Producer}}

| years_active = {{circa}} 1999–present

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Babak Anvari ({{langx|fa|بابک انوری}}; born 1983) is a British-Iranian{{Cite news |title=UK submits Farsi-language 'Under The Shadow' for Oscars |url=http://www.screendaily.com/awards/uk-submits-farsi-language-under-the-shadow-for-oscars/5109665.article |access-date=2017-07-13 |work=Screen Daily |language=en |archive-date=2 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211102191622/https://www.screendaily.com/awards/uk-submits-farsi-language-under-the-shadow-for-oscars/5109665.article |url-status=live }} filmmaker. He is best known for directing horror films such as Under the Shadow (2016) and Wounds (2019).

Early life

Anvari grew up in Tehran, Iran, with his older brother at the time of the Iran–Iraq War and the Iranian Cultural Revolution. He said in 2016, "We've both grown up with night terrors, being afraid of being left alone, of being in the dark for too long."{{Cite news |last=Seymour |first=Tom |date=2016-09-29 |title=Terror in Tehran: Under the Shadow and the politics of horror |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/sep/29/terror-in-tehran-babak-anvari-under-the-shadow |access-date=2024-10-29 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077 |archive-date=18 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240918010852/https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/sep/29/terror-in-tehran-babak-anvari-under-the-shadow |url-status=live }} At age 19 in 2002, Anvari moved to London, going on to graduate from the University of Westminster in 2005.{{Cite web|url=https://www.westminster.ac.uk/sites/default/public-files/general-documents/film-and-tv-ba-newsletter-summer-2016.pdf|title=Oscar, BAFTA and Sundance Success for Graduates|website=University of Westminster|date=2016|accessdate=25 December 2024}}

Career

In 2016, Anvari made his directorial debut with the horror film Under the Shadow. It was submitted by the United Kingdom for an Oscar nomination. The film was nominated for six British Independent Film Awards and won three, and won the BAFTA Award for Outstanding Debut.{{Cite web |last=Ritman |first=Alex |date=2019-01-25 |title=‘Wounds’ Director Babak Anvari on His Hollywood “Water Bottle Tour” After Indie Hit ‘Under the Shadow’ |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/wounds-director-babak-anvari-his-hollywood-water-bottle-tour-indie-hit-under-shadow-1179122/ |access-date=2024-10-30 |website=The Hollywood Reporter |language=en-US |archive-date=15 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221015201937/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/wounds-director-babak-anvari-his-hollywood-water-bottle-tour-indie-hit-under-shadow-1179122/ |url-status=live }}

In 2019, Anvari's follow-up film Wounds, a horror film based on the novella The Visible Filth by Nathan Ballingrud, was released. The cast includes Armie Hammer, Dakota Johnson and Zazie Beetz, and it screened at the Sundance Film Festival.

Anvari was announced as the director of an upcoming Cloverfield film in September 2022.{{Cite web |last=Kroll |first=Justin |date=2022-09-23 |title=New ‘Cloverfield’ Film At Paramount Sets Babak Anvari as Director |url=https://deadline.com/2022/09/cloverfield-paramount-babak-anvari-1235125119/ |access-date=2024-10-30 |website=Deadline |language=en-US |archive-date=7 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221007162434/https://deadline.com/2022/09/cloverfield-paramount-babak-anvari-1235125119/ |url-status=live }} In November 2023, Anvari's film Hallow Road started production. The film's cast includes Rosamund Pike and Matthew Rhys.{{Cite web |last=Grobar |first=Matt |date=2023-11-15 |title=Rosamund Pike & Matthew Rhys Board ‘Hallow Road,’ XYZ Thriller From Babak Anvari |url=https://deadline.com/2023/11/hallow-road-rosamund-pike-matthew-rhys-babak-anvari-1235612883/ |access-date=2024-10-30 |website=Deadline |language=en-US |archive-date=21 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231121003936/https://deadline.com/2023/11/hallow-road-rosamund-pike-matthew-rhys-babak-anvari-1235612883/ |url-status=live }}

Personal life

Anvari lives in London.

In 2022, Anvari participated in the Sight & Sound film polls of that year. Anvari's selections were Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Batman Returns, Jurassic Park, Stalker, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Mulholland Dr., Beetlejuice, The Dark Knight, Heat and Se7en.{{cite web | url=https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/greatest-films-all-time/all-voters/babak-anvari | title=Babak Anvari | BFI | access-date=24 August 2023 | archive-date=24 August 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230824122921/https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/greatest-films-all-time/all-voters/babak-anvari | url-status=live }}

In October 2022, Anvari wrote an open letter urging the entertainment industry to "amplify the voice" of the Mahsa Amini protesters and "give hope to the youth of Iran that the world is listening to their chants for freedom."{{Cite web |last=Ritman |first=Alex |date=2022-10-10 |title=Be the “Voice” of Iranian People, Urges Director Babak Anvari in Open Letter to Entertainment Industry as Protests Continue to Grip Country |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/iran-protests-letter-entertainment-babak-anvari-1235237917/ |access-date=2024-10-30 |website=The Hollywood Reporter |language=en-US |archive-date=7 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221207002755/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/iran-protests-letter-entertainment-babak-anvari-1235237917/ |url-status=live }}

Filmography

Short film

class="wikitable"

! Year

! Title

! Director

! Writer

! Producer

rowspan=2|2005

| What's Up with Adam?

| {{yes}}

| {{no}}

Creed

| {{yes}}

| {{no}}

| {{yes}}

2007

| Solitary

| {{yes}}

| {{no}}

2011

| Two & Two

| {{yes}}

Feature film

class="wikitable"

! Year

! Title

! Director

! Writer

! Producer

2016

| Under the Shadow

| {{yes}}

| {{no}}

2019

| Wounds

| {{yes}}

2022

| I Came By

| {{yes}}

| {{yes|Co-producer}}

2025

| Hallow Road

| {{yes}}

| {{no}}

| {{yes|Executive}}

TBA

| Untitled Cloverfield film{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2022/09/cloverfield-paramount-babak-anvari-1235125119/|title=New 'Cloverfield' Film At Paramount Sets Babak Anvari as Director|work=Deadline Hollywood|date=23 September 2022|access-date=September 23, 2022|archive-date=7 October 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221007162434/https://deadline.com/2022/09/cloverfield-paramount-babak-anvari-1235125119/|url-status=live}}

| {{yes}}

| {{no}}

TV series

class="wikitable"

! Year

! Title

! Director

! Executive
Producer

! Notes

2020

| Monsterland

| {{yes}}