Manouchehr Farid, a prominent actor celebrated for his iconic roles in the most defining masterpieces of Iranian cinema’s “New Wave,” has passed away at the age of 89 in Melbourne, Australia. The news of his passing was made public on Friday, July 3.
Born in 1937 in Tehran, Farid belonged to a legendary generation of Iranian artists that included Ali Nassirian, Mohammad Ali Keshavarz, Parviz Fannizadeh, and Parviz Sayyad.
Following the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Farid, like countless other Baha’i citizens, was systematically banned from continuing his artistic career in Iran due to his Baha’i faith. In mid-1986, after completing his work on the films The Ballad of Tara (Cherikeh-ye Tara) and My Heritage, Insanity (Mirasan Man Jonoun), he was forced to flee Iran for the United States. He eventually relocated to Australia, where he spent his final years.
Farid’s name is permanently intertwined with the works of the legendary director Bahram Beyzaie. Before his forced exile, he delivered brilliant performances in a string of cinematic masterpieces, including:
The Brick and the Mirror (Khesht o Ayeneh)Downpour (Ragbar)Stranger and the Fog (Gharibe va Meh)The Crow (Kalagh)The Ballad of Tara (Cherikeh-ye Tara)BaluchThe Voice of the Desert (Sedaye Sahra)Samad and King Solomon’s Carpet (Samad o Ghalicheh-ye Hazrat-e Soleyman)My Heritage, Insanity (Mirasan Man Jonoun)
