Hassan Nazer

Hassan Nazer
NationalityBritish-Iranian
Occupation(s)Film director, film editor and Film producer
Years active2011–present

Hassan Nazer (Persian: حسن ناظر) is a British-Iranian film director, screenwriter, film editor and producer.[1] The Aberdeen-based filmmaker first settled as a young refugee in 2002. He is also a judge in international film festivals. He was the head of jury team in SAARC Film Festival 2019 which was held in Sri Lanka.[2][3][4][5]

Career

Nazer moved from his hometown of Garmsar to Tehran and took theatre courses under the Iranian director Hamid Samandarian.[6] As a new theatre director, Nazer had been "red-flagged" for putting women on stage in the holy city of Mashad which motivated him to leave his home country in order to work in cinema and theatre. Nazer arrived in Scotland in 2000, and attended the University of Aberdeen where he studied film and visual culture. He also began to build a restaurant business to support his filmmaking. Nazer stated in an interview, "Even though my father is a wealthy person, so he could have helped me, he didn't want me to go into the cinema, so I was determined to stand on my own two feet." Nazer eventually raised enough money to finance his own independent films.[1]

His third film, Utopia (aka "ArmanShahr") about an Afghan woman as she travels to the U.K. for artificial insemination,[7]was selected as the Afghan entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 88th Academy Awards[8] and at Golden Globes.[9][10][11] The film has won more than 18 awards in nationally and internationally film festivals.[12][13]

Nazer's film Winners (2022) is his first film to be fully funded by outside backers [6]and received financial support from Screen Scotland.[14] Winners was the official UK entry for the 95th Academy Awards (2023) for Best International Feature. [15]

He has remained involved in the political process in Iran and recently voted in the first round of the Presidential elections via a polling station in London.

Filmography

Year Title Role
2011 Black Day Director, Producer
2013 We Are All Sinners (Ma Hameh Gonahkarim) Director, Producer
2014 Whistle My Lad Co-producer
2014 Here... Iran Director
2015 Utopia (ArmenShahr) Director
2022 Winners Director
2023 American Soldier Executive Producer

Awards and nominations

Year Film Award Category Results
2022 Winners British Independent Film Awards The Rain Dance Maverick Award Won
2022 Winners Edinburgh International Film Festival Audience Award Won[16]
2022 Winners Edinburgh International Film Festival Best New British Feature Nominated
2022 Winners Raindance Film Festival Best UK Feature Won[17]
2023 Winners BAFTA Scotland Awards Best Feature Film Won[18]

References

  1. ^ a b Armitstead, Claire (2023-02-26). "Film-maker Hassan Nazer on his love letter to Iranian cinema". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2025-07-21.
  2. ^ "Iranian cinematographer Nazer evaluates Sri Lankan festival".
  3. ^ "Iranian director head of jury in SAARC Film Festival 2019". Mehr News Agency. July 8, 2019.
  4. ^ "کارگردان ایرانی رییس هیات داوران نهمین جشنواره بین‌المللی سارک شد". اخبار سینمای ایران و جهان - سینماپرس. July 8, 2019.
  5. ^ "SAARC Film Festival 2019". Archived from the original on 2021-05-06. Retrieved 2019-09-21.
  6. ^ a b Rimi, Aisha (2024-01-04). "Hassan Nazer Q&A: 'My films are a voice for my country'". Hyphen. Retrieved 2025-07-10.
  7. ^ Ramachandran, Naman (2015-09-23). "Afghanistan Chooses 'Utopia' for the Oscars". Variety. Retrieved 2025-07-21.
  8. ^ Press, Khaama (November 16, 2015). "Afghan film 'Utopia' disqualified by Oscars from foreign-language race" – via www.khaama.com.
  9. ^ "موفقیت اتوپیا در جشنواره‌های خارجی/ ناظر: مهاجرت سرنوشت انسان را تغییر می‌دهد + تصاویر". fa. May 4, 1394.
  10. ^ "نگاهی به «آرمان‌شهر» نماینده افغانستان در اسکار". خبرگزاری مهر | اخبار ایران و جهان | Mehr News Agency. October 4, 2015.
  11. ^ "Foreign Film Submissions, 2015: Utopia (Afghanistan)". December 14, 2015.
  12. ^ "Films through the South Asian eye..." Sunday Observer. July 5, 2019.
  13. ^ "Winners from Aberdeen-based Director Hassan Nazer to premiere at EIFF 2022". Screen Scotland. 2022-08-04. Retrieved 2024-03-09.
  14. ^ Scotland, Screen (2020-12-10). "Winners". Screen Scotland. Retrieved 2025-07-10.
  15. ^ Ntim, Zac (2022-10-19). "Oscars: UK Selects Hassan Nazer's Farsi Language Feature 'Winners' To International Feature Race". Deadline. Retrieved 2025-07-10.
  16. ^ Ntim, Zac (2022-08-24). "Edinburgh Film Festival Winners: 'A Cat Called Dom' Takes Inaugural Powell And Pressburger Award For Best Film". Deadline. Retrieved 2025-07-21.
  17. ^ Raindance (2022-11-04). "30th Raindance Film Festival Award Winners". Raindance. Retrieved 2025-07-21.
  18. ^ Dalton, Ben (2023-11-19). "'Aftersun', 'Winners' take prizes at 2023 Bafta Scotland awards". Screen. Retrieved 2025-07-21.

General references

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