Soheil Beiraghi (Persian: سهیل بیرقی; born October 16, 1986, in Shahreza, Iran) is an Iranian independent film director, screenwriter and producer. He has directed the award-winning films I (Me), Cold Sweat and Popular . He started out on his filmmaking career in 2005 as an assistant director in a number of cinematic productions. His ten-year experience of working as an assistant director and planner, paved the way for the making of his first feature film I (Me). Beiraghi has also a record on play writing and theater directing.
Biography Soheil Beiraghi was born on October 16, 1986, in Shahreza. He got involved in cultural and artistic activities at the age of 12, writing short stories and texts on different subjects for magazines and newspapers. Three years later, one of his short stories was published for the first time in the monthly art and culture magazine Haft (seven) which received special attention. When he was 16, he made his feature debut as a screenwriter, a script that satisfied some of the professional and acclaimed filmmakers of the time. However, as he yearned to be an independent creator, he left the screenplay unfinished and set about making films based on his own writings and short stories. At the age of 18, inspired by one of his fictions, Beiraghi made his first short film.
His love of cinema grew deeper to such an extent that in 2005 he gave up his studies in industrial engineering and dedicated himself to filmmaking, working as an assistant director and planner for the following 10 years. During the course of the decade he had the opportunity to collaborate with prominent filmmakers such as Varuzh Karim-Masihi, Rasool Sadr Ameli, Hassan Fathi, Abdolreza Kahani and Bahram Tavakoli.
In 2012 his career took a new turn as he opted for the theater. He wrote and directed Pit (Persian: Chaleh) acted by Andishe Fouladvand, Ammaar Tafti and Atefe Nouri. The play had been on stage for 45 days in the Time Museum’s performance hall in Tehran and was performed in the theaters of different cities both in Iran and abroad.
Opinions Soheil Beiraghi is among the few Iranian filmmakers who work independently of any institutions. His main characters are lonely women who fight for their goals and undeniable human rights without the support of any organization or social entity.
To follow the path to success, the protagonists of the film come face to face with other people and the dominant system. The female protagonists’ daring encounters with unfavorable circumstances constitute a recurrent theme in Beiraghi's works.
There is, in addition, another noteworthy theme in Beiraghi's films; he addresses the question of power as well. His characters’ free will play an essential role in their decision-making. Nevertheless, they tend to use this unbridled power to the detriment of one another. Moreover, they don't take a passive role in dealing with difficulties and people; on the contrary, they make every effort to reclaim their rights, no matter what the consequences would be. Beiraghi has been labelled as a feminist film director by the followers of the antifeminist ideology, given that the protagonists of his films are mainly women and the plots include different aspects of women's lives. Adherents of the feminist movement regard his films as misogynistic, since another recurrent theme highlighted in his narratives is women taking action against each other. He has said about this:Beiraghi has said in this regard, “I have no intention of making films in favour of women, nor am I adherent to any particular movement or school of thought. I have never made films for or against women. I don’t mean to praise one social class and damage the image of another. The ideas come to my mind from the present time circumstances. If a viewer gets the impression that this film has destroyed the picture of a given class of the society, it’s up to him or her to judge. I only meant to be an honest storyteller.”The combination of common elements such as similar themes, minimal style of directing, sub-plot based screenplays as well as breaking with classic rules has made a trilogy of his three drama films which are described as feminine film noirs.
However, Beiraghi has stated that the trilogy took form all by itself, without any previous planning. The three films happened to be related to each other all spontaneously.
The same as the protagonists, the events of the three narratives move on against the current of the prevalent filmmaking principles, in the opposite direction of the existing cinematic and storytelling techniques. The films have been able to attract a huge audience, but at the same time have aroused the interest of a select few, being largely discussed by them. They inject new ideas into the main framework of today's Iranian cinema.
Directing Works
I (Me) (2016) Beiraghi made his first feature film I (also known as Me) in 2016, when he was 28 years old. The film was a great success as the young director's first professional experience, both on cinema screens and at film festivals. Just inside Iran, the box office was more than twice higher than budget.
The distinctive appearance of the actress Leila Hatami won praise from a large number of audiences and critics alike. She played the role of an astute fixer who solved problems for other people by breaking the law in a subtle way. The novelty of the script and the narrative structure which was made up of subplots were the features particularly acclaimed by the critics who applauded as well the director's fresh look at a social problem and his ability to guide the actors, especially the female character.
Amir Jadidi, Mani Haghighi and Behnoush Bakhtiari were the film's supporting actors.
Cold Sweat (Permission) (2018) Beiraghi made his second feature film, Cold Sweat in 2018. The film narrates the story of a young woman by the name of Afrooz Ardestani, the Iran women's national football team captain whose husband doesn't allow her to play in international football games and forbids her from going abroad.
The film's central theme is this woman's struggle for her fundamental rights, a lead role played by Baran Kosari which attracted a lot of public and media attention. The striking similarity between the plot and the reality about Iranian female athletes, prevented from taking part in international competitions by their husbands, provoked fierce debate.
Amir Jadidi, Leili Rashidi, Hoda Zeinolabedin and Sahar Dowlatshahi were also cast in Cold Sweat.
The film was chosen for best actress and best actor in Fajr International Film Festival.
Popular (2020) Two years later, in 2020, Beiraghi began shooting his third feature film Popular, a threequel to his two previous works I (Me) and Cold Sweat, all dealing with women's issues. Preceded by Leila Hatami and Baran Kosari featuring as two Iranian women in the 1970s and 1980s, the actress Fatemeh Motamed-Arya appeared in Popular as the representative of the women born in the 1960s in Iran. It's about a middle-aged woman frustrated by long hours of idleness and boredom who decides to start a new life in a small town after going through a divorce.
Gaining social acceptance and following traditions despite oneself are the dominant themes of the film. It has a simple and minimal language and takes the audience on a journey through the details of a realistic narrative. Motamed-Arya's acting in the leading role and the way Beiraghi brings her as the lead character face to face with her lengthy loneliness and everyday problems attracted considerable interest from the critics after the screening of the film at the Fajr Film Festival.
Baran Kosari and Hootan Shakiba played the supporting roles in Popular.
The movie's public screening has been postponed indefinitely due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Filmography +TitleYearProducerScreenwriterDirectorGenre I (Me)2016Saeid Saadi, Saeid Khani✔✔Social drama Cold Sweat2018Mehdi Davari✔✔Sports and social drama Unpopular2020✔✔✔Social drama Bidad2025✔✔✔Social drama
Awards and nominations
National Year Festival Film Competition Result Notes201524th Fajr International Film FestivalI (Me)Negah-e-No (Best Film);
Soday-e-Simorgh competitive sectionNominated in two more categories:
Best Supporting Actor (Amir Jadidi),
Best Supporting Actress (Behnoosh Bakhtiari)201510th Iran's Film Critics and Writers Association Award CeremonyI (Me)Creativity & Talent PrizeNominatedNominated in three more categories: Best Actress (Leila Hatami),
Best Supporting Actor (Amir Jadidi),
Best Supporting Actress (Behnoosh Bakhtiari)2016Cinema Gazette Award CeremonyI (Me)DirectingNominatedAward winner for Best ActressScreenwritingNominated201719th Iranian Cinema Award Ceremony (House of Cinema)I (Me)Best ScriptNominatedNominated in three more categories:
Best Supporting Actress (Behnoosh Bakhtiari),
Best Sound Recording (Nasser Entezari),
Best Sound Mixing (Alireza Alavian)201736th Fajr International Film FestivalCold SweatSoday-e-Simorgh competition sectionNominatedNominated for eight awards; winner in three categories:
Best actor (Amir Jadidi), Best Supporting Actress (Sahar Dolatshahi),
Best Film Editing (Bahram Dehghani & Mohammad Najarian);
the film's nominations in five other categories are:
Best Actress (Baran Kossari),
Best Supporting Actor (Leili Rashidi),
Best Supporting Actor (Hoda Zeinolabedin),
Best Cinematography (Farshad Mohammadi),
Best Original Score (Karen Homayounfar)201812th Iran's Film Critics and Writers Association Award CeremonyCold SweatBest FilmNominatedSahar Dolatshahi won Best Supporting Actress award and Baran Kosari received the Diploma of Honour for Best Actress.
The Film garnered nominations in the following categories:
Best Actor (Amir Jadidi), Best Supporting Actress (Leili Rashidi),
Best Supporting Actress (Hoda Zeinolabedin),
Best Film Editing (Bahram Dehghani & Mohammad Najarian)Best DirectingNominatedBest ScreenplayNominated201921st House of Cinema Award CeremonyCold Sweat Nominated in four categories:
Best Actress (Baran Kosari),
Best Actor (Amir Jadidi),
Best Supporting Actress (Sahar Dolatshahi),
Best Supporting Actress (Leili Rashidi)201938th Fajr Film FestivalPopularSoday-e-Simorgh competitive sectionNominated for Best Supporting Actress (Baran Kosari)202019th Hafez Film FestivalCold SweatBest FilmNominatedBaran Kosari won the award for Best Actress,
Amir Jadidi won the award for Best Actor and
Sahar Dolatshahi was nominated for Best Supporting Actress awardBest ScreenplayNominated
International
I (Me) Festival (cinema/venue) Country Date NotesFajr International Film FestivalTehran, Iran1-11 February 2016Domestic release;
Winner - Best Supporting Actor Amir Jadidi and
Best Supporting Actress Behnoosh Bakhtiari20th Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (PÖFF)Estonia11- 27 November 2016Forum section6th Iranian Film FestivalPrague, Czech Republic10- 21 January 2017Competition section7th London Iranian Film FestivalUnited KingdomOct 28th - Nov 7th 2016Museum of Fine Arts, HoustonUnited States20- 22 January 2017Museum of Fine Arts, BostonUnited States26 & 28 January 20176th Iranian Film FestivalAustraliaOct 20th - Nov 13th 2016Iranian Film FestivalZurich, SwissMay 2017Smithsonian InstitutionWashington, USFeb 11th 2017Gene Siskel Film CenterChicago, USFeb 4th and 5th 2017Persian Cine ClubGeneva, SwissMay 2017China National Film MuseumBeijing, China23 – 29 August 201715th Pune International Film Festival (PIFF)India12 - 19 January 2017Guwahati International Film FestivalIndiaOct 28th - Nov 2nd 2017
Cold Sweat Cold Sweat was distributed in France by Sophie Dulac Distribution and was screened in England, Ireland, Sweden, South America, Australia, New Zealand, China, and Malaysia. It was also well received at a number of international film festivals. Festival (cinema/venue) Country Date NotesFajr International Film FestivalTehran, Iran1–11 February 2018Domestic release;