Hamid Reza Sadr

Infobox Writer
name = Hamid Reza Sadr


imagesize =
caption =
pseudonym =
birthdate = birth date and age|1956|03|19
birthplace = Tehran, Iran
deathdate =
deathplace =
occupation = Film critic and Film historian
nationality = Iranian
period =
genre =
subject = Film, football
movement =
influences =
influenced =


website =

Hamid Reza Sadr حمیدرضا صدر born 19 March, 1956, is an Iranian film critic. He is well known for his columns in "Film Magazine" and "Haft Magazine" on cinema.

He married Mehrzad Dolati in 1983. They have a daughter, Ghazaleh. He currently lives in Tehran, Iran and lectures in different Iranian and European universities besides his professional engineering work.

Education

He entered Tehran University in 1974 and gained BA in Economics, and MA in Urban Planning in Faculty of Fine Arts, Tehran University. His thesis title was "Location Modeling of Persian Gulf Cities". He studied Urban Planning in the Leeds University in England.

Career

Sadr's movie reviews are published in many Iranian journals since 1981 including Zan-e Rooz, Soroush, "Film Magazine", "Film International", and "Haft" magazine. Sadr has explained his critical approach to films as "relative, not unconditional"; he analysis a film for what he feels will be its likely audience, yet he usually approaches movies emotionally, with a strongly touching writing style. He was especially cruel to some films that had been roasted by many critics, such as Bahram Beizai and Masoud Kimiai films. The originality of his opinions, as well as the vigorous way in which he spoken them, won his eager supporters as well as angry critics.He translated "From Reverence to Rape: The Treatment of Women in the Movies", the influential book by Molly Haskell which published in "Zan-e Rooz" magazine.

He has written a book on politics and Iranian cinema, called "Iranian Cinema: A Political History". The comprehensive analysis provided in this book gives refreshing, up-to-date introduction to those interested in Iranian cinema and its socio-political dimensions and history, observing recurrent themes and genres as well as giving lights to lesser-known thematic concerns and figures. Sadr, while acknowledging the lack of imaginative expression in mainstream Iranian cinema: the weak scripts, the poor performances, the repetitive and conservative nature and content and poor performances, argues for and analysis the political contexts and its constant shifts embedded within the apparently least noteworthy of Iranian films.

Sadr was known for his monthly column called "Shadow of Imagination" {سایه خیال} appearing in "Film Magazine" and his reports on international film festival particularly on London Film Festival. He interviewed many famous actors, directors and film critics including: Anthony Hopkins, Peter O'Toole, Mike Leigh, Jim Jarmusch, Carlos Saura, Andrei Konchalovsky, Peter Wollen, Laura Mulvey, Jeffrey Noel Smith, John Gillett, Sohrab Shahid-Sales and Farokh Ghafari.

He is a co-producer of "Looking for Scheherazade" movie, a documentary directed by Safi Yazdanian in 2003.

He is a football lover and has written several features on sociology, politics and football. His book "Once Upon a Time Football" is about politics and football but it also tells the story of the Sadr's relationship with football and sometimes relates them to his own personal life.

Books

Sadr's books included:

*"Comedy Cinema" (Tehran, 1987,Film Publication)
*"An Introduction to the Political History of Iranian Cinema" (Tehran, 2001, Ney Publications)
*"Against the Wind: Politics of Iranian Cinema" (Tehran, 2002, Zarrin Publications)
*"Iranian Cinema: A Political History" (London, 2006, I.B. Tauris)
*"Once Upon a Time Football" (Tehran, 2000, Avige Publication) which is a personal review of football based on political and social events.
*A contributor in "Life and Art : The New Iranian Cinema" (BFI, 1999,London)
*A contributor in "The New Iranian Cinema: Politics, Representation & Identity" (London, 2002,I.B. Tauris)

Persondata
NAME= Sadr, Hamid Reza
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION= Iranian film critic
DATE OF BIRTH= 19 March 1956
PLACE OF BIRTH= Tehran, Iran
DATE OF DEATH=
PLACE OF DEATH=