Persian Media

Following

A list of works originating in Ancient Persia or modern Iran or by Persian creators.

Animation

• Babaei
• The Child and the Invader
• Pahlevanan (The Heroes/The Champions)
• Zizigulu Tales

Comic Books

• Embroideries
• Persepolis
• The Mystery of the Hanging Dolls

Actors and Directors

• Omid Abtahi — Born in Iran, moved to the US after the Revolution as a boy with his parents.
• Shohreh Aghdashloo — Born in Iran, moved to the US after the Revolution.
• Desiree Akhavan — Born in the US to Iranian parents who'd fled the Revolution.
• Ana Lily Amirpour — Born in the UK to Iranian parents and raised in the US.
• Tala Ashe
• Zal Batmanglij — Born in France to Iranian parents and raised in the US.
• Nazanin Boniadi — Born in Iran, raised in England, has spent her career in the United States.
• David Dastmalchian — Born in the US to an Iranian father and a white mother - notably, he is not of Armenian descent despite the appearance of his last name.
• Eman Esfandi — Born in the US to Iranian parents.
• Golshifteh Farahani — Born in Iran, banned from the country and became a French citizen.
• Asghar Farhadi
• Negin Farsad — Born in the US to Iranian parents.
• Mikaela Hoover - Born in the US, of partial Iranian descent.
• Kathreen Khavari — Born in the US to Iranian parents.
• Abbas Kiarostami
• Harmony Korine - Born in the US to an Iranian Jewish father and a white mother.
• Marshall Manesh — Moved to the US in the 1970s.
• Sepideh Moafi — Born in Germany to Iranian refugees; now a US citizen.
• Navid Negahban
• Kayvan Novak — Born in the UK to Iranian parents.
• Emily O'Brien — Born in the UK to an Iranian mother and British father.
• Jafar Panahi
• Adrian Pasdar — Born in the US, of Iranian descent on his father's side.
• Artemis Pebdani — Born in the US to Iranian parents.
• Nasim Pedrad — Came to America with her family when she was three.
• Medalion Rahimi — Born in the US to Iranian parents.
• Ana Sani — Is of Iranian and Indian descent.
• Sarah Shahi — Born to an Iranian father and Spanish mother in the US.
• Yara Shahidi — Born in the US to an Iranian father and a Black and Choctaw mother.
• Bahar Soomekh — Born in Iran, moved to the US with her parents when she was 4 after the Revolution.
• Shaun Toub — He was born in Iran and later moved to the US to finish high school.
• Sheila Vand — She was born in the US as a second generation Iranian-American.
• Necar Zadegan: Born in Germany to Iranian parents, later moved to the US and is a dual citizen.

Films — Animated

• SpongeBob in Tehran
• In the Shadow of the Cypress
• Luggy
• Malek Khorshid
• Our Uniform
• Yellow-Black

Films — Live-Action

• 11′09″01 September 11
• About Elly
• At Five in the Afternoon
• Baran
• Cafe Setareh
• Children of Heaven
• Close-Up
• The Color Of Paradise
• Fireworks Wednesday
• Fish & Cat
• Gaav
• Gabbeh
• A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night
• Holy Spider
• The House Is Black
• It Was Just an Accident
• Komaa
• Marmoulak
• Offside
• The Salesman
• The Seed of the Sacred Fig
• A Separation
• Shish O Besh
• Taste of Cherry
• Under the Shadow
• Where Is the Friend's House?
• The White Balloon
• The Wind Will Carry Us

Folklore and Myth

• Persian Mythology

Literature

• Black Colt
• The Blind Owl
• Mansour al-Hallaj
• Rumi
• The Shahnameh
• The Snake-Prince Sleepy-Head
• Women Without Men
• Yasmin and the Serpent Prince

Live Action TV

• The Bisexual

Musicians

• Creeping Death (vocalist Reese Alavi)
• Kristina Esfandiari (best known for King Woman and Miserable)
• DJ Aligator (Iranian-Danish, born in Tehran and later moved to Denmark)
• Ghoul (drummer Peijman Kouretchian, aka Fermentor)
• Heathen (bassist Jason Mirza)
• Mareux (Aryan Ashtiani, who is the sole member)
• Rostam is an American musician/producer of Persian descent
• Sevdaliza (Iranian-Dutch, born in Tehran and moved to the Netherlands as a child)
• Spite (Darius and Alex Tehrani)
• System of a Down (Daron Malakian's mother is Armenian-Iranian)
• Trivax (founder and mainman Shayan S. was born and raised in Iran and emigrated to the United Kingdom as a teenager)
• Vampire Weekend (founding and former member Rostam Batmanglij)
• Yak Ballz (Yashar Zadeh, founding DJ for The Weathermen)

Professional Wrestling

• The Iron Sheik

Tabletop Game

• Shatranj, the predecessor to Chess

Video Games

• 1979 Revolution: Black Friday
• Children of Morta
• Driving in Tehran
• E.T. Armies
• Garshasp: The Monster Slayer

Web Animation

• Skibidi Multiverse — a Skibidi Toilet fanseries made by a joint Iranian-American animation studio