Houchang Allahyari (; , ; born 1941) is an Austrian psychiatrist and filmmaker of Iranian origin.
Biography Born in 1941, in Pahlavi Iran, Allahyari emigrated to Austria as a teenager. In Vienna, where he still lives today, he studied medicine and worked for a long time as a psychiatrist in prisons.
From 1970 onward, he made numerous short films, and later several feature films, of which I Love Vienna (1991), Höhenangst (1994), and Born in Absurdistan (1999) in particular found a wider audience. Allahyari repeatedly addresses the fates of migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers in his films, often dramatically, but with humor.
In October 2009, he presented the documentary film Bock for President, about the work of Ute Bock, a refugee aid worker, which he created together with his son Tom-Dariusch Allahyari. This earned them both the first-ever Austrian Film Award. In 2014, Allahyari received the Diagonale Film Award for Best Austrian Feature Film for The Last Dance.
Allahyari received another award in November 2023: the Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria.
Filmography
Allahyari's filmography includes: 1978: Truth (Wahrheit) 1981: I like to be in America 1982: Despite all this (Trotz alledem) 1983: The Life in Death (Das Leben im Tod) 1983: Harmony and understanding 1984: Thing 84 1985: Completion (Vollendung) 1985: Imago 1985: Pasolini stages his death (Pasolini inszeniert seinen Tod) 1988: Borderline 1990: Meat grinder (Fleischwolf) 1991: I Love Vienna 1992: The Day They Caught Jack Unterweger (Der Tag, an dem sie Jack Unterweger fingen) 1992: And tomorrow the Opera Ball (Und morgen der Operball) 1994: Fear of Heights (Höhenangst) 1995: Deadly Love (Tödliche Liebe) 1997: Black Flamingos 1999: Born in Absurdistan (Geboren in Absurdistan) 2002: Rocco 2007: Rumi – Poetry of Islam (Rumi – Poesie des Islam) 2009: Bock for President 2010: The Crazy World of Ute Bock (Die verrückte Welt der Ute Bock) 2012: The Persian Crocodile (Das persische Krokodil) 2013: Robert Tarantino 2014: The Last Dance (Der letzte Tanz) 2016: The Lovers of Balochistan (Die Liebenden von Balutschistan) 2018: Ute Bock Superstar 2024: And Freshly in Love Everyday (Und täglich frisch verliebt) 2025: Matarsak – The Scarecrow (Matarsak – Die Vogelscheuche)
References