Bani Khoshnoudi was born in Tehran and grew up in the United States. She studied photography and film at the University of Texas in Austin and moved to France in 1999. In 2004 she made the short film Transit (Grand Jury Prize – Premiers Plans Angers, Rotterdam, Sao Paulo Mostra, nominated for Jean Vigo Prize, Critic’s Prix Novaïs-Terxeira). In that same year, she was commissioned to make a documentary about Nobel Peace Prize winner, Shirin Ebadi, for the French/German channel ARTE. In 2008, Bani made the feature documentary, A People In The Shadows (IDFA, Cinéma du Réel, EDoc, DokFest Munich…) Her first feature, Ziba (Rotterdam, Dubai, Göteborg, CPH:PIX) was selected for the Cinéfondation Residency of the Cannes Film Festival. In 2014, Bani revealed herself as the filmmaker behind The Silent Majority Speaks, a political fresco about 100 years of political revolt in Iran. She was nominated for the Prix Scribe (France) and after the film’s World Premiere at IDFA, it had a second premiere, this time with Bani present at Art of the Real at Lincoln Center in April 2014. In 2012, Bani was invited to make a film as part of the DOX:LAB of the CPH:DOX Festival, and is currently finishing Benizit, that came out of this commission. Since 2009, Bani lives in Mexico City, where she already directed her feature film Fireflies. In addition to films, Bani makes more experimental work in the form of video and sound installations. In 2009, she was the studio artist at the prestigious Whitney Museum of American Art Independent Study Program in New York. Her work has been shown in galleries and museums in Tehran, New York, Paris, Cairo, Mexico City, Berlin and Rotterdam.
filmography
The Silent Majority Speaks 2010- 2014
produced by Pensée Sauvage Films & Jan Vrijman Fund (IDFA), Jan Vrijman Panorama Art of the Real Lincoln Center
Ziba 2012
feature fiction
produced by Pensée Sauvage Films & MSVP / with the support of Cinéfondation Cannes,, Fondation Groupama Gan pour le Cinéma, Fonds Sud Cinéma / VISIT Films (sales)
Rotterdam IFF / Dubai IFF / Göteborg IFF / FICUNAM (Mexico) / Kosmorama Trondheim IFF, Norway / CPH PIX, Denmark / Beijing Independent FF / Noor FF / Cork IFF, Ireland
A People In The Shadows 2008
documentary
produced by Pensée Sauvage Films with the participation of the Jan Vrijman Fund
IDFA / DokFest Munich / Cinéma du Réel Festival Centre Pompidou / San Francisco FF / Muestra Internacional del Documental (Bogota) / It’s All True Film Festival Special Program, Brazil / EDOC Encuentros del Otro Cine, Ecuador / Rencontres Cinématographiques de Gindou / Perspektive / Nuremburg FF / La Lanterne Magique, Ile de la Réunion / Docs DF Mexico City FF / Austin Asian American FF / Riviera Maya Underground FF
Transit 2005
short film
produced by TSVP Production / Agence du Film Court
Premiers Plans Angers Festival / Rencontres Ciné de Gindou – Grand jury prize for screenplay / Rotterdam IFF / Premiers Plans Angers First FF / Mostra de Cinéma de Sao Paulo / Festival Côté Court de Pantin / Larissa New Directors Film Festival, Greece / Un festival C’est trop court de Nice / French Film Festival in Stockholm / Bordeaux Women’s Film Festival / Goteburg Film Festival / Villeurbanne Short Film Festival / Flying Broom Women’s Film Festival, Ankara / Tribeca Underground Film Festival / Brooklyn International Film Festival / ARTE East Film Series
Nobel Peace Prize : Shirin Ebadi, a Simple Lawyer 2004
documentary
produced by Les Films d’Ici, Article Z, ARTE France.
Geneva Human Rights FF / Human Rights FF Paris / 18 films for Peace , Cannes 2005 / MedFest, Salerno, Italy / MESA Film Fest, Arizona, USA / Helsinki Human Rights Festival … etc.
The New Criminals of Europe 2003
experimental documentary
Made with the GISTI at the Calais camp for exiles in Northern France
Pineaple 2000
experimental short
Berlinale Talent Campus
Memory 1999
experimental short
Austin Film Society Price, TFPF Fund
Life Suspended 1998
documentary
Best Documentary – Cinematexas Short Film and Video Festival