Samad Becomes an Artist (Samad Artist Mishavad) (Iran, 1974)

Directed by Parviz Sayyad

Parviz Sayyad appeared in a string of popular Iranian features in the 1970s Iran about “Samad,” an unsophisticated but street-smart, rural man encountering city life and modernity with hilarious results. The popular character (a type found in many national cinemas) here encounters a visiting film crew seeking actors from among the local villagers. The broad comedy foregrounds social categories and assumptions of pre-revolutionary Iran.

Screenwriter: P. Sayyad. Cast: P. Sayyad, Hosein Amirfazli, Enayat Bakhshi.

Digital video, b/w, in Persian with English subtitles, 114 min.