Short Bio

Setareh Eskandari is an Iranian actress in film, theater, and television. Eskandari began her artistic career in 1994. Now day she works as an actress, producer, director, and social activist in Iran. Twice, she has won the most prestigious Iranian Theatre Award. The Fajr Theatre Festival named her best actress for her roles in “The People of Darkness” (2000) and “acclimatising” (2013). In 2019, Eskandari directed her first feature film, “The Sun of that Moon,” which homages Balochi culture. This film obtained the best director award at the Albanian “Idromeno” and Italian “Imago” festivals. She was also have been nominated for the best director award at the Austrian and Asian Pacific festivals in Macau

Setareh Eskandari was born in 1974 in Torbat Heydarieh. She started her artistic activity in 1993 in company with students of the Faculty of Fine Arts of University of Tehran. Initially in 1995, she was nominated for an award in the Teather Student Festival for the “Legend” theater play, subsequently in 1997 in the Fajr theater festival for the “The Last Heroes of the Earth” theater play. 

In continue, she expanded her artistic activities into the cinema in 1996. Furthermore, she directed two tele theaters. Setare was also produced several theaters including the theater play “Bernarda Alba’s House” directed by Dr. Ali Rafiei. 

Eskandari served as a judge at the 22nd Pune International Film Festival in India in 2023, following the screening of “The Sun of That Moon” at various international festivals. The film received critical acclaim for addressing significant issues such as women’s rights, life experiences, and Baloch culture.

Setareh Eskandari founded the “Mana Culture and Art House” in 2016. In March 2017, she collaborated with Siavash Sattari to found the “Iranian Puppet Museum” and launched the first puppet caravan in the Chabahar Free Zone, aiming to bring joy and dreams to Balochi children. In June 2023, Eskandari independently organized the first national puppet festival in Tehran to commemorate Cultural Heritage Week and Museum Day.

Movie directing: The Sun of that moon (2019)

“The sun of that moon” is a movie directed by Setareh Eskandari, produced by Manouchehr Mohammadi and written by Somayeh Tajik, produced in 2019. The music of the film was composed by Hossein Alizadeh. Bahram Dehghani collaborated as an editor and Mehran Malekouti was the sound technician. Nazanin Farahani, Pejman Bazeghi, Amir Hossein Hashemi, Banafshe Samadi, Rozhin Sadrzadeh, Sadegh Sohrabi, Mehtab Jami, Nakissa Nouri, Sadegh Balochi, Rozhnak Shirani and Maryam Bubani are acting in this movie.

This movie is the first Iranian movie in the Balochi language that admires the culture of Sistan and Baluchistan. This film was produced with the presence of local artists such as Ishaq Baloch Nesab and Barkat Barjan.

Amidst a labyrinth of untouched landscapes, enchanting music, and local customs and traditions, at the core of a subdued love story, this film endeavors to portray an authentic depiction of Baluchistan. This movie aims to underline important and basic contrasts with the conventional portrayals of the mentioned area and its people in mainstream Iranian cinema. According to Setareh Eskandari, producing this film was social responsibility, so it was done with the hope of de-stereotyping the usual image of Baluchistan in Iranian cinema. “The sun of that moon” contains many symbols of Balochistan culture. Language, clothing, food, music. The face painting has also been successful in strengthening the appearance of the actors and their believability in their native roles; Also, the design and layout of the stage and costumes of the actors and of course the musical accompaniment of Hossein Alizadeh have contributed effectively to the fil.

Nationwide marquee festival

The first national marquee festival, managed by Setare Eskandari and secretary Siavash Sattari, was held independently on the occasion of Cultural Heritage Week and Museum Day from May 28 to June 9, 1403 in Tehran. In this period, 8 shows from Tehran, Alborz, Isfahan, Yazd, East Azarbaijan, Gilan, etc. were present.

Art activities

Theatres

•Dandoon Tala (Golden Teeth)

•Romeo and Juliet

•Shazdeh Ehtejab (Prince Ehtejab)

•Divar (Te Wall)

•Saadate Larzane Mardomane Tirerooz (won best actress in Fajr International Festival)

•Ghahveye talkh (Dark Coffee)

•Shabe hezaro yekom (The 1001st Night)

•Dar mesr barf nemibarad (There is no snowing in the Egypt)

•Ashaghe

•Eshgh va Alijenab (Love and His Excellency)

•Shekare roobah (Hunting a Fox)

•Ham Havayea ( A mountain climbing term that means adaptation of body and height )

•Nafare dovom (a second person)

•Man ye zanam, sedamo mishnavi? (I am a woman; do you hear me?)

Tele Theater

Directing

•Javan e Nazanin (The young sweet man)

•Zendegi e Aghaye Donich (The life of Mr. Donich)

Producing

•Si o se darsad Neil Saimon (Thirty-three percent Neil Simon)

•Boridegiha (cuts)

•Aroosi e Khoon (Blood wedding)

•Khane Bernarda Alba (Bernarda Alba house)

• Mach Madag 

Movies

•Harif e del (Heart opponent)

•Mosafer e Rey (Ray’s passenger)

•Tarzán and Tarzän

•Movajehe (encounter)

•Shabaneh (Nocturnal)

•Shirin

•Shabaneh rooz (Day and night)

•Molaghat (Meeting)

•Ghese Pariya (fairy tale)

•Ghabrestan e Gheir e Entefaei (Non-profit cemetery)

•Agha Yousef (Mr.Yousef)

•Shir tu shir (Confused)

•Hiss!dokhtara faryad nemizanand (Hush! Girls Don’t Scream)

•Na khāste (Unwanted)

•Farda (tomorrow)

•Nazdiktar (Closer)

•Nime shab etefagh oftad (it happened at midnight)

•Mali va rah-haye narafte-ash (Mali and its untraveled ways)

•Khaneye kaghazi (Paper house)

•Daryache Mahi (Fish lake)

•Sarv-e zir-e ab (Cedar under water)

•Chemical

•Sudabeh

•Ghatel va vahshi (Savage and killer)

•Chap rast (Left right)

TV Series

•Mah e Mehraban (kind moon)

• Majerahaye khneye shomare 13 (Adventures of House No. 13)

•Istgah (Station)

•Ba man Beman (Stay with me)

•Roozhaye be yad mandani (Memorable days)

•Biganei dar mian e ma (A stranger among us)

•Eshgh e gomshode (Lost love)

• Narges

• Ta Sobh (Until morning)

• Marge tadrijiye yek roya (Slow death of a dream)

• Factor 8

• Shogh e parvaz (Flying Passion)

•Heyrani (Perplexity)

•Haft-sin

•Hame bachehaye ma (all our children)

•Zaferani (Saffron)

•Gomshodegan (the lost)

•Gileh Va

•Terror e khamush (a silent terror)

Participation

Appreciated by 11th edition of Muscat International Film Festival (MIFF)

Jury member 

Jury at the 22nd Pune International Film Festival in India in 2023

Awards

Best actress in 19th Fajr festival, 2001

Best actress in “Iranian society of theater critics”, 2001

Best actress in 33rd Fajr festival 2015

Best actress in “Iran’s house of Theater”, 2015

Two awards as best actress in TV 2006 and 2008

Idromeno Independent Film Festival (May 2023 – Albania), Best Director Award

international IMAGO Film Festival of Civitella del Tronto 2023, Casablanca Award for the best foreign movie and Stanley Kubrick Award for the best film director (2023)

Asia Pacific Film Festival (Macau – China, November 2023). Best Feature Film, Best Director, Best Script, Best Cinematography, Best Costume