Born in 1959 in Tehran, Alireza Ghanie moved to Austria when he was 14 years old. He received his masters degree in 1982 from the University of Music and Dramatic Art "Mozarteum" in Salzburg and graduated in Computer Science in 1994. He workedextensively in theatre and opera and also as a freelance painter. He received the "Europa Tolerance" award, sponsored by European Parliament for the short film, HAND IN HAND in 1994. Ghanie's first feature, WINDSPIEL (2002) screened widely at film festivals and won several prizes in Iran. LESSON FROM BAM, (2005) made after the earthquake, screened at dozens of film festivals after winning the Grand Prix Award for the best short Documentary for from Chicago Int. Doc. Film Festival, and the Audience Award at Brisbane International Film Festival. He lives and works as a freelance artist in Salzburg, Austria.
Austria