Mehdi Mirzamehdi Tehrani

Mehdi Mirzamehdi Tehrani
Tehrani 2020
Born
Mehdi Mirzamehdi Tehrani

13 March 1970 (1970-03-13) (age 56)
Tehran, Iran
Alma materMcGill University
OccupationsJournalist
Film critic
Military career
AllegianceIran
Branch
Basij
Rank
Lieutenant commander[1]
CommandsBayandor Independent Marine Battalion
Conflicts
Iran–Iraq War (Wounded in Action)
Operation Karbala-4
Awards
Order of Altruism

Mehdi Mirzamehdi Tehrani (Persian: مهدی میرزامهدی تهرانی; born 13 March 1970) is an Iranian film critic, journalist, and academic, as well as a veteran of the Iran–Iraq War. He has written film reviews for Iranian publications for over three decades and taught film studies at the Faculty of Fine Arts at the University of Tehran. During the Iran–Iraq War, he commanded a Basij naval company in Operation Karbala-4 and later led a battalion in subsequent operations. As of 2023, he is the last surviving member among the 15 wartime survivors of his battalion.

Journalism and academic background

He studied history and encyclopedia writing, and basic concepts of cinema under Reza Seyed-Hosseini, Akbar Alemi, Arthur Knight and later completed his PhD in Film and Visual Media Studies at McGill University in 1999 under the supervision of Christian Ross and Arthur Asa Berger.[2] Tehrani has written extensively on cinema for over three decades. In his own writing, He has categorized film criticism in Iranian print and online media into several distinct types, including academic critics, journalist critics, translator-critics, and social-media critics.[3][4][5][6][7]

He has presented research papers at national conferences. His papers were among the selected works presented at the First Conference on Order and Knowledge (2000)[8] and the First Conference on Research in IRIB (2000).[8]

From September 2020 to November 2021, he served on the Age Rating Council of the Iranian Cinema Organization.[9][10][11]

Cinematic views

According to Hamshahri Online and Khabar Online, Tehrani’s film criticism is characterized by a strong emphasis on editing as the core essence of cinema. Drawing on the theories of Soviet filmmakers Dziga Vertov and Vsevolod Pudovkin, he views editing as the process that gives meaning to raw images.[3][12]

He is also a proponent of the British New Wave[13] (Kitchen Sink Realism),[14] praising its focus on social realism and everyday life. He frequently references Akira Kurosawa as a master of cinematic form and editing.[15][16] In his approach to criticism, he advocates clarity and accessibility, arguing that the role of a critic is to serve as a “road map” for the audience rather than a prescriptive judge, avoiding overly technical jargon.[3]

Mehdi Tehrani with Professor Arthur Asa Berger (left), Tehran. 2015

Military background

Mehdi Tehrani served as a Marine Ranger during the Iran-Iraq War and commanded an independent battalion, officially known as the Admiral Gholam Ali Bayandor Battalion, during the Operation Karbala-4.[17][18]

According to Hamshahri Online, of approximately 15 members of the battalion who survived Operation Karbala-4 in December 1986, the rest gradually died of their wounds in the following decades, leaving Tehrani as the sole surviving member. He was seriously wounded by chemical agents during the war.[19][18]

In 2020, he received the Order of Altruism (1st class) in recognition of his service.[20][21]

Tehrani in December 1986, shortly before Operation Karbala-4

Selected works

  • Tehrani, Mehdi (2000). “Decriminalization and the Role of Cultural and Social Organizations”. In Proceedings of the First Conference on Order and Knowledge (Law Enforcement Forces). Tehran: NAJA Research Department, pp. 96–102.[22]
  • Tehrani, Mehdi (2000). “The Role and Position of Research Management in Radio and Television in Iran and the World”. In Proceedings of the First Conference on Research in IRIB. Tehran: Deputy for Research and Planning, IRIB, pp. 127–148.
  • Tehrani, Mehdi (2003). "Like a Cartoon (the position of big companies and independent studios in the process of growing and learning animation cinema, 1927–2003)". Farabi Cinema Quarterly. 49 (3): 143–154. ISSN 1022-3126.[23]
  • Tehrani, Mehdi (2003). "Cinema and the Audience: Iranian Cinema and Its Audience: Periodic Dynamism and Periodic Helplessness of Iranian Cinema". Farabi Cinema Quarterly. 50 (4): 33–60. ISSN 1022-3126.[24]

References

  1. ↑ Shayan, Nima (2024-01-14). "توصیه تنها بازمانده یگان تکاور غواص به روزنامه‌نگاران حوزه دفاع و امنیت" [The advice of the sole survivor of the Diver Commando unit to defense and security journalists]. Hamshahri (in Persian). Hamshahri Institute. Retrieved 2026-07-23.
  2. ↑ "Reporter Nima Shayan reports on the cinematic conversation between Professor Arthur Asa Berger and Mehdi Tehrani". همشهری آنلاین (in Persian). 2015-05-05. Archived from the original on 2026-02-04. Retrieved 2026-07-18.
  3. 1 2 3 Eftekhari, Ali (2018). "علی افتخاری: بحث‌های نظری مهدی تهرانی درباره سینمای تمام ناشدنی آلفرد هیچکاک، موج نو سینمای انگلستان، مونتاژ روسی و کوروساوا" [Mehdi Tehrani's theoretical discussions about Alfred Hitchcock's unfinished cinema, the British New Wave, Russian montage, and Kurosawa]. Hamshahri Online (in Persian). Retrieved 2026-07-23.
  4. ↑ Tehrani, Mehdi. "مفاهیم: تکه پازل‌های نقدنویسی در روزنامه‌ها، رسانه‌های آنلاین و شبکه‌های اجتماعی ایران چیست؟" [Concepts: What are the pieces of the puzzle of film criticism in Iranian newspapers, online media, and social networks?]. Hamshahri Online (in Persian). Retrieved 2026-07-23.
  5. ↑ "یک مدرس و منتقد سینما: «جشنواره کن» ضد مذهب نیست". akharinkhabar.ir (in Persian). 2022-06-13. Retrieved 2026-07-23.
  6. ↑ "مجله تاریخچه سینمای پس از انقلاب‌ اسلامی‌ ایران". همشهری آنلاین (in Persian). 2014-11-25. Retrieved 2026-07-24.
  7. ↑ "روایت عظمت ظهر عاشورا بر پرده خاکستری". خبرآنلاین (in Persian). 2026-06-25. Retrieved 2026-07-24.
  8. 1 2 Tehrani, Mehdi (2000). “The Role and Position of Research Management in Radio and Television in Iran and the World”. In Proceedings of the First Conference on Research in IRIB. Tehran: Deputy for Research and Planning, IRIB, pp. 127–148.
  9. ↑ "Dr. Mehdi Tehrani, film critic and professor of advanced cinema studies and member of the Film Age Rating Council, interview". خبرآنلاین. 2021-12-30.
  10. ↑ "Interview with Mehdi Tehrani, critic. Jam Jam Newspaper". www.jamejamdaily.ir (in Persian). Retrieved 2026-07-18.
  11. ↑ reza, yaghmaei (2014-03-02). "Live coverage of the 2014 Oscars was covered by Mehdi Tehrani/Reza Yaghmaei". همشهری آنلاین (in Persian). Archived from the original on 2026-02-14. Retrieved 2026-07-19.
  12. ↑ "مفاهیم: آرا و نظریه‌های سینمایی پودوفکین چیست؟". همشهری آنلاین (in Persian). 2022-03-14. Retrieved 2026-07-24.
  13. ↑ "آشنایی با موج نوی سینمای انگلستان؛ فیلمسازی مطبخی". همشهری آنلاین (in Persian). 2014-10-21. Retrieved 2026-07-24.
  14. ↑ "آشنایی با سینمای بریتانیا". همشهری آنلاین (in Persian). 2014-10-25. Retrieved 2026-07-24.
  15. ↑ "سریر خون از به یاد ماندنی ترین ساخته های کوروساوا؛ سیما 4". خبرآنلاین (in Persian). 2011-08-06. Retrieved 2026-07-24.
  16. ↑ "سریر خون ساخته کوروساوا؛ نمایش طمع انسانی در مکبث ژاپنی". همشهری آنلاین (in Persian). 2015-09-18. Retrieved 2026-07-24.
  17. ↑ "Abbasian, Elnaz (2023-12-24). "The untold stories of commodore Mirza Mehdi Tehrani's marine ranger from the Operation Karbala-4". همشهری آنلاین (in Persian). 2023-12-24. Archived from the original on 2026-07-14. Retrieved 2026-07-18.
  18. 1 2 shayan, Nima. "about mehdi tehrani: Advice from the sole survivor of the Diver Commando Unit to defense and security journalists".
  19. ↑ shayan, Nima (2015-11-22). "Face to Face with Two Warriors: Mohammad Reza Hemtian and Mehdi Mirzamehdi Tehrani. A Sign of a Brother in a Shining Coffin / Report by Nima Shayan". همشهری آنلاین (in Persian). Archived from the original on 2026-07-14. Retrieved 2026-07-18.
  20. ↑ موسسه فرهنگی هنری پیام آزادگان. "به ایثارگران نشان ویژه اهدا می‌شود | موسسه فرهنگی هنری پیام آزادگان". www.mfpa.ir (in Persian). Archived from the original on 2025-02-21. Retrieved 2026-07-18.
  21. ↑ ""اهدای نشان فداکاری به خانواده های معظم شهدا در دانشگاه افسری امام علی (ع)"". کانون بازنشستگان آجا (in Persian). Archived from the original on 2024-06-12. Retrieved 2026-07-20.
  22. ↑ "Tehrani, Mehdi (2000). "Decriminalization and the Role of Cultural and Social Organizations". In Proceedings of the First Conference on Order and Knowledge (Law Enforcement Forces). Tehran: NAJA Research Department, pp. 96–102". Police Cultural Studies. 2000.
  23. ↑ "ک مثل کارتون (جایگاه کمپانی های بزرگ و استودیوهای مستقل در روند رشد و فراگیری سینمای انیمیشن (1927 -". پرتال جامع علوم انسانی (in Persian). Retrieved 2026-07-24.
  24. ↑ "سینمای ایران و مخاطبان آن: پویایی دوره ای و درماندگی دوره ای سینمای ایران". پرتال جامع علوم انسانی (in Persian). Retrieved 2026-07-24.
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