
Person
Babak Jalali
Directing · Born 1978-09-01 · Gorgan, Iran
Biography
Babak Jalali (Persian: بابک جلالی; 1 September, 1978; Gorgan) is an Iranian–British-American film director and producer, notably directing Radio Dreams, for which he won the Hivos Tiger Award at the 45th International Film Festival Rotterdam. Jalali was born in Gorgan, Iran, and grew up in London, where he attended the London Film School. In 2006, Jalali was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Short Film for his short "Heydar, an Afghan in Tehran." Jalali's first feature film, the 2010 Frontier Blues, was developed with support from the Cannes Cinéfondation. Frontier Blues premiered in Locarno Festival Competition and also screened in the 2010 "New Directors" series at the Museum of Modern Art and Lincoln Center. In 2016, Jalali's film Radio Dreams premiered at the 45th International Film Festival Rotterdam, winning for the Hivos Tiger Award, the festival's top honor. Jalali's third feature Land is an Italian-French-Dutch co-production, supported by CNC, TorinoFilmLab, Eurimages, Mibac and Doha Film Institute among others. It premiered in Berlin International Film Festival. Jalali co-wrote, edited, and directed his fourth feature Fremont, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2023.
Known for

Radio Dreams
Director

Amanda
Editor

Xoftex
Writer

The Kidnapping of Arabella
Editor

Simon Killer
Editor

Tehran: City of Love
Producer

Fremont
Director
A Town in Nova Scotia
Director

Frontier Blues
Director

Short Skin
Producer
Filmography
- 2025The Kidnapping of ArabellaEditor
- 2025XoftexWriter
- 2023FremontDirector
- 2022AmandaEditor
- 2019Tehran: City of LoveProducer
- 2018LandDirector
- 2017Radio DreamsDirector
- 2015Short SkinProducer
- 2013White ShadowCo-Producer
- 2012Simon KillerEditor
- 2010Frontier BluesDirector
- 2008Lo zioProducer
- 2005Heydar, an Afghan in TehranDirector
- —A Town in PatagoniaDirector
- —A Town in Nova ScotiaDirector
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