Mansour Ghadarkhah

Mansour Ghadarkhah was born in 1956 in Iran. As an adolescent, he was engaged in a number of artistic endeavors in theater, and films, and despite limited means he embarked on making several 8mm films, acting, and directing theatrical plays. His success in these endeavors launched his professional career, which ranked him as the best actor and a popular theatrical director for 2 consecutive years in his birthplace of Isfahan (one of Iran's largest states). Due to his encounters in his teenage years with the infamous Shah's secret police, SAVAK, which severely suppressed artistic dissent, his artistic talents and efforts manifested to a more political, social, and cultural nature. Affected and influenced by many members of the resistance of that era, Mansour began his struggle against the Pahlavi's regime with the hope of achieving a democratic society for all. He took an active part in the anti-monarchy revolution of 1979 in Iran. With the emergence of the Islamic Republic and their religious theocracy in Iran, Mansour soon recognized their demonic intentions. Due to the socio-political nature of his artistic work, he became a target for persecution and left Iran in April of 1980 for a life in exile. Ghadarkhah immigrated to Germany after a brief stay in India. He began furthering his education in cinematography and graphics, and expanded to script writing, direction, and cinema composition. While in college, he excelled in photography, short subject films, documentaries, and wrote several scripts. Larger projects appeared on the horizon when Mansour won several awards in Germany's artistic festivals. His directorial debut outside of Iran was the 1992 "Eye to Eye" (Auge Um Auge (1992)). This film caught the interest of the European media and famed film critics such as the renowned German writer-director Bernhard Wiki, and won 2 awards in various European film festivals. The gripping story of this film reflected the mass exodus of many political refugees from Iran. The exile of Iranian political refugees was one of the hot topics of the day in Europe, which made "Eye to Eye" one of the most relevant and revered pictures of that time. Although "Eye to Eye" became a big hit and gained popularity even among human rights organizations such as Amnesty International and Pouro Assoul (Pro Asylum), it faced the hysterical criticisms of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Mansour was recognized in Europe as the most active Iranian filmmaker in cinema and television productions. In an attempt to silence him, the regime in Iran made a steady effort to gain his cooperation and consent. But, Ghadarkhah, as an Iranian and a German citizen, has persistently believed that any cooperation and compromise with such an infamy is a betrayal to humanity, and despite the pain and sufferings with such positions, he has used every opportunity to expose the tyranny in Iran. Some of his other films are: "Farewell Grandmother," "Tracks of Terror," "In the Company of the Poorest of the Poor," and "From Kali to Calcutta." The focus of "Tracks of Terror," released in 1996, is the chain of assassinations of various opposition members in Western Europe by the regime in Iran, and reveals undeniable and detailed evidence of such crimes. This film had a profound effect on the relations of the Islamic Republic and Europe. The message of the film was to alert the European nations of the politics of appeasement favoring Iran. These were the very same politics that paved the way for many acts of terror in Europe that could have been prevented. Despite the fact "Tracks of Terror" attracted constant threats on his life and that of his family by the government in Iran, Mr. Ghadarkhah never abandoned his resolve and remained resolute in his opposition to the religious tyranny in his homeland. "Tracks of Terror" was released before the final judgment of the Mykonos tribunal (the assassinations of four opposition members by the Islamic Republic) and did not receive any coverage in German and French media and TV. But after the actual declarations in trial confirmed the facts and evidences presented in this film, "Tracks of Terror" was televised only once, and the regime in Iran reacted openly and criticized the French and German governments. Regretfully, due to tremendous pressures by Iran, and the policy of appeasement by Germany and France, broadcasters openly sanctioned this film by the order of their governments. During such time, Ghadarkhah was granted membership to the National Council of Resistance (NCR). NCR is the only democratic alternative to the dictatorship in Iran with headquarters in Paris. It is a coalition of Iran's various parties, organizations, and individuals with the history of struggle for democracy. Although in exile, NCR openly represents its constituents overseas, and clandestinely within Iran. During many interviews with CNN, NBC, and various German broadcasters, Mansour unveiled many threats of terrorism by the regime in Iran against himself and other freedom-loving Iranians. As the result, the regime openly demanded that the German government fully restrict Mansour's professional activities. The German government bowed to such a shameless demand, and Ghadarkhah's professional life in Germany came an absolute halt. In conjunction with his talents and abilities in writing, directing, cinematography, and editing, Mansour possesses immense interests in photography and digital art. He has revealed this interest in books and drawings that are accessible on his website. Ghadarkhah has written several screenplays about the epic stories of both contemporary and ancient history with the assistance of a number of well-known Iranian historians. The realizations of such genres aid in the better understanding of Islamic fundamentalism and terrorism (Funda-terrorism) as a global concern, and as a path to its permanent defeat.