Moze Mossanen is a Canadian independent writer, director and producer who has created a body of critically acclaimed film and TV work blending drama, music, performance and documentary. Most recently, he wrote and directed the documentary feature, You Are Here: A Come From Away Story . His other works include Year of the Lion , a dance film adaptation of the novel, Dangerous Liaisons , and Nureyev , a docu-drama about the life of the Russian dancer Rudolf Nureyev .
60-710: Mossanen was born in Tehran to a Jewish family, Iran and lived in England before emigrating to Canada. He attended Ryerson University , where he studied filmmaking. After studying at the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute and the Actors Studio in New York, Moze Mossanen created a theatre company entitled Theatre One and under its auspices produced and directed a production of Cabaret at
120-615: A Gemini nomination for Best Writing in a Dramatic Program. His next film, The Rings of Saturn , a well-received exploration of desire and loss set within the lives of five urban couples, was broadcast in January 2002 on CBC and Bravo! and received a Best Performance Gemini Award nomination for one of its lead players, Julia Aplin. CBC and Bravo! also broadcast Mossanen's Year of the Lion in January 2003. Loosely based on Choderlos de Laclos ' controversial 1782 novel, Les Liaisons dangereuses ,
180-544: A crisis and the dissolution of parliament . Ahmad Shah Qajar and his entourage decided to leave Tehran and move the capital to another place, sparking fears of rebellion in other cities. During the Battle of Robat Karim , Iranian forces led by Heydar Latifiyan prevented the Russians from taking Tehran, despite the latter winning the battle. This also allowed government functions to be moved to Qom and then to Isfahan, while
240-593: A docu-drama told almost entirely through performance, music and dramatic monologues, was called "a triumph" by The Globe and Mail and won the Golden Sheaf Award for Best Arts and Entertainment Program at the Yorkton Film Festival in May 2010. The film also received six Gemini Award nominations, including nods for Best Performing Arts Program and Best Writing in a Dramatic Program for Moze. He won
300-425: A substantial urban structure as a blessing, because it minimized the chances of resistance to his rule by the notables and by the general public. Moreover, he had to remain within close reach of Azerbaijan and Iran's integral northern and southern Caucasian territories —at that time not yet irrevocably lost per the treaties of Golestan and Turkmenchay to the neighboring Russian Empire —which would follow in
360-535: A well-received documentary on Toronto's blues music scene; The Photography of Cylla Von Tiedemann , a profile of the German-born photographer; and Jackie Richardson: A Night In August , a made-for-TV concert featuring the blues and jazz singer. In 1998, Mossanen completed The Golden City , a film the National Post ' s film critic, Michael Crabb, reviewed as "a magical, almost existential meditation on
420-731: Is home to diverse ethnic and linguistic groups from all over the country. The present-day dominant language of Tehran is the Tehrani variety of the Persian language , and the majority of people in Tehran identify themselves as Persians . However, before, the native language of the Tehran–Ray region was not Persian, which is linguistically Southwest Iranian and originates in Fars , but a now extinct Northwestern Iranian language . Iranian Azeris form
480-454: Is the capital and largest city of Iran. In addition to serving as the capital of Tehran province , the city is the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District . With a population of around 9.4 million in the city as of 2018, and 16.8 million in the metropolitan area, Tehran is the most populous city in Iran and Western Asia , the second-largest metropolitan area in
540-577: The Alborz mountains. In English, it is also spelt " Teheran ", with both variants being used in books since at least 1800, and "Teheran" being the dominant form from after WWII until shortly before the Islamic Revolution. Archaeological remains from the ancient city of Ray suggest that settlement in Tehran dates back over 6,000 years. Tehran is in the historical Media region of ( Old Persian : 𐎶𐎠𐎭 Māda ) in northwestern Iran. By
600-706: The Azadi Tower , a memorial built under the reign of Mohammad Reza Shah of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1971 to mark the 2,500th anniversary of the Persian Empire , the Milad Tower , the world's sixth-tallest self-supporting tower , completed in 2007, another famous landmark in Tehran is the Tabiat Bridge , completed in 2014. Most of the population are Persian , with roughly 99% of them speaking
660-546: The Golestan Palace , Tekye Dowlat , and Tupkhane Square , were replaced with modern buildings influenced by classical Iranian architecture, particularly the buildings of the National Bank , the police headquarters, the telegraph office, and the military academy. Changes to the urban fabric began with the street-widening act of 1933, which served as a framework for changes in all other cities. The Grand Bazaar
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#1732779892388720-517: The Middle East after Cairo , and the 24th most populous metropolitan area in the world. Greater Tehran includes several municipalities, including, Karaj , Andisheh , Eslamshahr , Pakdasht , Qods , and Shahriar . In the classical antiquity , part of the territory of present-day Tehran was occupied by Rhages (now Ray ), a prominent Median city almost entirely destroyed in the medieval Arab , Turkic , and Mongol invasions. Modern Ray
780-615: The Mongol invasion . In the 13th century, the Mongols invaded Rhages, laid the city to ruins, and massacred many of its inhabitants. Others escaped to Tehran. In July 1404, Castilian ambassador Ruy González de Clavijo visited Tehran on a journey to Samarkand , the capital of Turco-Mongol conqueror Timur , the ruler of Iran at the time. He described it in his diary as an unwalled region. Italian traveler Pietro della Valle passed through Tehran overnight in 1618, and in his memoirs called
840-514: The Persian language , alongside other ethnolinguistic groups in the city which became Persianized and assimilated. Tehran is served by Imam Khomeini International Airport , alongside the domestic Mehrabad Airport , a central railway station , Tehran Metro , a bus rapid transit system, trolleybuses , and a large network of highways . Plans to relocate the capital from Tehran to another area due to air pollution and earthquakes have not been approved so far. A 2016 survey of 230 cities across
900-460: The University of Tehran , in many districts of Tehran across various socio-economic classes in proportion to population sizes of each district and socio-economic class, 63% of the people were born in Tehran, 98% knew Persian, 75% identified themselves as ethnic Persian, and 13% had some degree of proficiency in a European language. Tehran saw a drastic change in its ethnic-social composition in
960-749: The Yorkton Film Festival , a Canadian Cinematography Award and two Gemini Awards, including nominations for Best Dramatic Writing and Best Performing Arts Program for Mossanen. Meanwhile, Mossanen directed an episode of the Disney comedy Life With Derek , for which he received a Directors Guild of Canada nomination. Nureyev , based on the life of the Russian dancer who defected to the West in 1961, aired on Bravo! and CTV in December 2009. The film,
1020-1316: The 22 municipal districts, 20 are located in Tehran County 's Central District , while districts 1 and 20 are respectively located in the counties of Shemiranat and Ray . North : District 1: • Farmaniyeh • Evin • Darakeh • Zaferaniyeh • Mahmoodiyeh • Velenjak • Darband • Golabdarreh • Jamaran • Dezashib • Niavaran • Darabad • Tajrish • Gheytariyeh • Chizar • Ozgol • Aghdasiyeh • Elahieh • Jamshidiyeh • Saadabad • Kamraniyeh District 2: • Farahzad • Shahrara • Gisha • Punak-e Bahtari • Saadat Abad • Sadeghieh • Shahrak-e Gharb • Tarasht • Tohid District 3: • Darus • Davoodiyeh • Ekhtiariyeh • Golhak • Vanak • Jordan District 5: • Bolvar-e Ferdowsi • Jannat Abad • Ekbatan • Punak District 6: • Amir Abad • Arjantin • Yousef Abad • Park-e Laleh Baxter (TV series) Too Many Requests If you report this error to
1080-400: The 32nd capital of Persia . Large-scale construction works began in the 1920s, and Tehran became a destination for mass migrations from all over Iran since the 20th century. Tehran is home to many historical sites, including the royal complexes of Golestan , Sa'dabad , and Niavaran , where the last two dynasties of the former Imperial State of Iran were seated. Tehran's landmarks include
1140-597: The Gemini Award for Best Direction in a Performing Arts Program or Series for this film on November 2, 2010. Also in 2010, Mossanen directed an episode of Baxter which premiered for Family Channel . His next films, Love Lies Bleeding (a musical special based on the life of Elton John ) and Romeos & Juliets (a prime time documentary exploring the National Ballet of Canada 's new production of Romeo and Juliet ), both aired on CBC in 2012. While he
1200-463: The Iraqi air offensives on the capital. With most major powers backing Iraq at the time, economic isolation gave yet more reason for many inhabitants to leave the city (and the country). Having left all they had and having struggled to adapt to a new country and build a life, most of them never came back when the war was over. During the war, Tehran also received a great number of migrants from the west and
1260-559: The U.C. Playhouse in Toronto. Mossanen next directed two short films , Illegal Acts and Canciones , which brought him to the attention of the CBC . Dance for Modern Times (1987) was Mossanen's first feature-length documentary, released theatrically and aired on CBC Television . This critically acclaimed film was acknowledged as one of the finest performing arts films made in Canada. It
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#17327798923881320-522: The ancient history of Iranian languages such as "Tirgan" theory and "Tahran" theory folk etymology . Another theory is that "Tehran" derives from Tiran/Tirgan, "the abode of Tir ", the Zoroastrian equivalent of Hermes . The ancient Parthian town of Tiran had a neighbour, Mehran ("abode of Mehr/Mithra", the Zoroastrian sun/justice angel). Both of these were mere villages in the suburbs of
1380-544: The assistance of the UNHCR , but there are still sizable groups of Afghan and Iraqi refugees in Tehran who are reluctant to leave, being pessimistic about the situation in their own countries. Afghan refugees are mostly Dari -speaking Tajik and Hazara , speaking a variety of Persian, and Iraqi refugees are mainly Mesopotamian Arabic -speakers who are often of Iranian and Persian ethnic heritage. The majority of Tehranis are officially Twelver Shia Muslims , which has also been
1440-459: The capital of Iran in 1786. Agha Mohammad Khan's choice of his capital was based on a similar concern for the control of both northern and southern Iran. He was aware of the loyalties of the inhabitants of former capitals Isfahan and Shiraz to the Safavid and Zand dynasties respectively, and was wary of the power of the local notables in these cities. Thus, he probably viewed Tehran's lack of
1500-482: The city Taheran . English traveler Thomas Herbert entered Tehran in 1627, and mentioned it as Tyroan . Herbert stated that the city had about 3,000 houses. In the early 18th century, Karim Khan of the Zand dynasty ordered a palace and a government office built in Tehran, possibly to declare the city his capital; but he later moved his government to Shiraz . Eventually, Qajar king Agha Mohammad Khan chose Tehran as
1560-476: The city, from old to newly built centres, including mosques , churches , synagogues , and Zoroastrian fire temples . The city also has a very small third-generation Indian Sikh community with a local gurdwara that was visited by the Indian Prime Minister , Manmohan Singh in 2012. The metropolis of Tehran is divided into 22 municipal districts, each with its own administrative center. Of
1620-680: The course of the 19th century. After 50 years of Qajar rule, the city still barely had more than 80,000 inhabitants. Up until the 1870s, Tehran consisted of a walled citadel, a roofed bazaar , and the three main neighborhoods of Udlajan , Chale-Meydan, and Sangelaj, where the majority resided. During the long reign of Naser al-Din Shah (1848-1896), Tehran witnessed Iran's first institute of higher learning , bank , railway line and museum. The city expanded rapidly through multiple development plans The first development plan of Tehran in 1855 emphasized traditional spatial structure. The second, under
1680-525: The early 1980s. After the political, social, and economic consequences of the 1979 Revolution and the years that followed, a number of Iranian citizens, mostly Tehranis, left Iran. The majority of Iranian emigrations have left for the United States , Germany , Sweden , and Canada . With the start of the Iran–Iraq War (1980–1988), the second wave of inhabitants fled the city, especially during
1740-585: The epics as the homeland of the protoplast Keyumars , the birthplace of King Manuchehr , the place where King Fereydun bound the dragon fiend Aždahāk (Bivarasp), and the place where Arash shot his arrow. In 641, during the reign of the Sasanian Empire , Yazdgerd III issued his last appeal to the nation from Rhages, before fleeing to Khorasan. Rhages was dominated by the Parthian House of Mihran , and Siyavakhsh —the son of Mehran ,
1800-529: The face of Tehran and ambitious projects were planned for the following decades. To resolve the problem of social exclusion , the first comprehensive plan was approved in 1968. The consortium of Iranian architect Abd-ol-Aziz Farmanfarmaian and the American firm of Victor Gruen Associates identified the main problems blighting the city as high-density suburbs, air and water pollution, inefficient infrastructure, unemployment, and rural-urban migration. Eventually,
1860-629: The film aired in January 2003 and won the Jury Award at the Yorkton Film Festival in June of the same year. The film was nominated for five Gemini Awards, winning three awards for cinematography, editing and original score. Bravo! aired an evening-long retrospective of his film works in March 2004 which coincided with the broadcast of his film From Time to Time , a collaboration with the music of Joni Mitchell . The film, which premiered originally on CBC,
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1920-422: The film by saying: "The documentary's emotional power has the same source as "Come From Away" — the poignant knowledge that in a fearful moment, citizens of one nation embraced strangers, sharing what they had to make their visitors feel at home." Tehran Tehran ( / t ɛəˈr æ n , - ˈ r ɑː n , ˌ t eɪ -/ ; Persian : تهران Persian pronunciation: [tehˈɾɒːn] Tehrân )
1980-759: The globe by Mercer ranked Tehran 203rd for quality of life . According to the Global Destinations Cities Index in 2016, Tehran is among the top ten fastest growing destinations . In 2016, the Tehran City Council declared 6 October to be Tehran Day, celebrating the date in 1907 when the city officially became the capital of Iran. Various theories on the origin of the name Tehran have been put forward. Iranian linguist Ahmad Kasravi , in an article "Shemiran-Tehran", suggested that Tehran and Kehran mean "the warm place", and "Shemiran" means "the cool place". He listed cities with
2040-526: The great city of Ray/Rhages. Mehran still exists as a residential district in Greater Tehran, as well as Ray, which forms the southern suburbs of Tehran. The official City of Tehran website says that "Tehran" comes from the Persian words "Tah" meaning "end", or "bottom", and "Ran" meaning "[mountain] slope"—literally, the bottom of the mountain (ته کوه), referring to Tehran's position at the foot of
2100-688: The highest-rated original program on HBO Canada for the same year. The film also won the CSA Award for Best Documentary Program as well as the CSA Award for Best Editing in a Documentary Program in March 2109. The film went on to win the Jury Prize at the Banff World Media Festival in June 2019. On September 11, 2019, Fathom Events released the film in over 800 cinemas across the United States. The New York Times praised
2160-681: The inner city community of Toronto's Regent Park ; and the feature documentary You Are Here for HBO Canada about the closing of the US airspace on 9/11 when 38 airliners were forced to land in Gander, Newfoundland , a story that eventually inspired the Broadway musical Come From Away . "You Are Here" won the Audience Award for Best Feature Documentary at CineFest in October 2018 and became
2220-531: The interaction of character and environment." The film was broadcast on Bravo! and TVO in June of that year. Mossanen received a Gemini nomination for Best Direction in Performing Arts Program for this work. My Gentleman Friends , Mossanen's first hour-long TV drama, aired on Bravo! in April 1999 and was singled out as one of the outstanding programs of the year, and for which Mossanen received
2280-620: The interest that Arabian Baghdad displayed in Rhages, the number of Arabs in the city remained insignificant and the population mainly consisted of Iranians of all classes. The Oghuz Turks invaded Rhages in 1035, and again in 1042, but the city was recovered under the Seljuks and the Khwarezmians . Medieval writer Najm od Din Razi declared the population of Rhages about 500,000 before
2340-518: The monarchy remained in Tehran. After World War I , the constituent assembly elected Reza Shah of the Pahlavi dynasty as the new monarch, who immediately suspended the Baladie law of 1907, replacing the decentralized and autonomous city councils with centralist approaches to governance and planning. From the 1920s to the 1930s, under the rule of Reza Shah, the city was essentially rebuilt from scratch. Several old buildings, including parts of
2400-597: The parliament passed a law on local governance known as the Baladie ( municipal law ), providing a detailed outline of issues such as the role of councils within the city, the members' qualifications, the election process, and the requirements to be entitled to vote. The then-Qajar monarch Mohammad Ali Shah abolished the constitution and bombarded the parliament with the help of the Russian-controlled Cossack Brigade on June 23, 1908. That
2460-533: The planning organization of Iran in 1948 resulted in the first socioeconomic development plan to cover from 1949 to 1955. These plans not only failed to slow the unbalanced growth of Tehran but with the 1962 land reforms that Reza Shah's son and successor Mohammad Reza Shah named the White Revolution , Tehran's chaotic growth was further accentuated. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Tehran developed rapidly under Mohammad Reza Shah. Modern buildings altered
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2520-428: The same base and suffix and studied the components of the word in ancient Iranian languages , and came to the conclusion that Tehran and Kehran meant the same thing in different Iranian language families, as the constant "t" and "k" are close to each other in such languages. He also provided evidence that cities named "Shemiran" were colder than those named "Tehran" or "Kehran". He considered other theories not considering
2580-495: The second-largest ethnic group of the city, comprising about 10-15% of the total population, while ethnic Mazanderanis are the third-largest, comprising about 5% of the total population. Tehran's other ethnic communities include Kurds , Armenians , Georgians , Bakhtyaris , Talysh , Baloch , Assyrians , Arabs , Jews , and Circassians . According to a 2010 census conducted by the Sociology Department of
2640-476: The son of Bahram Chobin —who resisted the seventh-century Muslim invasion of Iran . Because of this resistance, when the Arabs captured Rhages, they ordered the town destroyed and rebuilt anew by traitor aristocrat Farrukhzad . In the ninth century, Tehran was a well-known village, but less so than the city of Rhages, flourishing nearby. Rhages was described in detail by tenth-century Muslim geographers. Despite
2700-414: The southwest of the country bordering Iraq . The unstable situation and the war in neighbouring Afghanistan and Iraq prompted a rush of refugees into the country who arrived in millions, with Tehran being a magnet for many seeking work, who subsequently helped the city to recover from war wounds, working for a far lower pay than local construction workers. Many of these refugees are being repatriated with
2760-689: The state religion since the 16th-century Safavid conversion . Other religious communities in the city include followers of the Sunni and Mystic branches of Islam, various Christian denominations, Judaism , Zoroastrianism , and the Baháʼí Faith . In the 2016 "Tehran Survey", when residents of Tehran were asked about the importance of religion in their life, 53.5% considered it to be "very important / important", 31.1% to be "rather important", 10.5% to be "not very important" and 4.8% to be "not at all important." There are many religious centres scattered around
2820-539: The supervision of Dar ol Fonun in 1878, included new city walls, in the form of a perfect octagon with an area of 19 square kilometers, mimicking the Renaissance cities of Europe. Tehran was 19.79 square kilometers, and had expanded more than fourfold. Growing awareness of civil rights resulted in the Constitutional Revolution and the first constitution of Iran in 1906. On June 2, 1907,
2880-526: The time of the Median Empire , part of present-day Tehran was a suburb of the prominent Median city of Rhages ( Old Persian : 𐎼𐎥𐎠 Ragā ). In the Avesta 's Videvdat (i, 15), Rhages is mentioned as the 12th sacred place created by Ohrmazd . In Old Persian inscriptions, Rhages appears as a province ( Bistun 2, 10–18). From Rhages, Darius I sent reinforcements to his father Hystaspes , who
2940-488: The urban fabric. The new city map of Tehran in 1937 was heavily influenced by modernist planning patterns of zoning and gridiron networks. During World War II , Soviet and British troops entered the city. In 1943, Tehran was the site of the Tehran Conference , attended by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt , Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin , and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill . The establishment of
3000-585: The whole plan was marginalized by the 1979 Revolution and the subsequent Iran–Iraq War . Tehran's most famous landmark, the Azadi Tower, was built by the order of the Shah in 1971. It was designed by Hossein Amanat , an architect whose design won a competition, combining elements of classical Sassanian architecture with post-classical Iranian architecture. Formerly known as the Shahyad Tower , it
3060-617: Was absorbed into the metropolitan area of Greater Tehran. Tehran was first chosen as the capital of Iran by Agha Mohammad Khan of the Qajar dynasty in 1786, because of its proximity to Iran's territories in the Caucasus , then separated from Iran in the Russo-Iranian Wars , to avoid the vying factions of the previously ruling Iranian dynasties. The capital has been moved several times throughout history, however, and Tehran became
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#17327798923883120-553: Was also nominated for the Shaw Rocket Prize . In 2013, Mossanen also directed and co-created Rise , a dramatic digital pilot for ABC Spark , which is currently live and online at ABCSpark.ca. Mossanen has also written extensively for Point of View and Dance Current Magazine , two national publications. His two most recent projects, both released in 2018, are: My Piece of the City , a feature doc for CBC about youths in
3180-425: Was built to commemorate the 2,500th anniversary of the Imperial State of Iran . During the Iran–Iraq War in 1980 to 1988, Tehran was repeatedly targeted by airstrikes and Scud missile attacks. The 435-meter-high Milad Tower, one of the proposed development projects of pre-revolutionary Iran, was completed in 2007, and has become a famous landmark of Tehran. Tabiat Bridge, a 270-meter pedestrian overpass that
3240-418: Was designed by award-winning architect Leila Araghian , was completed in 2014. The city of Tehran had a population of 7,711,230 in 2,286,787 households at the time of the 2006 National Census. The following census in 2011 counted 8,154,051 people in 2,624,511 households. The 2016 census measured the population of the city as 8,693,706 people in 2,911,065 households. With its cosmopolitan atmosphere, Tehran
3300-440: Was divided in half and many historic buildings were demolished and replaced by wide straight avenues, and the traditional texture of the city was replaced with intersecting cruciform streets that created large roundabouts in major public spaces such as the bazaar. As an attempt to create a network for easy transportation within the city, the old citadel and city walls were demolished in 1937, replaced by wide streets cutting through
3360-424: Was followed by the capture of the city by the revolutionary forces of Ali-Qoli Khan (Sardar Asad II) and Mohammad Vali Khan (Sepahsalar e Tonekaboni) on July 13, 1909. As a result, the monarch was exiled and replaced by his son Ahmad , and the parliament was re-established. During the Persian campaign , Russian forces that were occupying the northwest of Iran marched around Qazvin and approached Tehran, caused
3420-468: Was nominated for a Genie Award and won the Chris Award at the Columbus International Film Festival . During the same year, Mossanen also wrote, produced and directed The Dancemakers , a series of six half-hour programs on contemporary choreographers which aired on the CBC, TVOntario , and on networks in Europe, Asia and Australia. For CBC Television's Arts and Entertainment series, Mossanen produced and directed several specials including Shades of Blue ,
3480-480: Was nominated in a directing category for Romeos & Juliets , Love Lies Bleeding was awarded a Canadian Screen Award for Best Cinematography in a Performing Arts Program in March 2013. His subsequent film, Unsung: Behind the Glee , a one-hour documentary on the world of show choirs (a form made popular by the TV show, Glee ), aired on TVO on December 4, 2013, for which he won the Canadian Screen Award. The film (co-produced with Shaftesbury and Show Choir Canada)
3540-433: Was putting down a rebellion in Parthia (Bistun 3, 1–10). Some Middle Persian texts give Rhages as the birthplace of Zoroaster , although modern historians generally place the birth of Zoroaster in Khorasan Province . Mount Damavand , the highest peak of Iran, which is located near Tehran, is an important location in Ferdowsi 's Šāhnāme , an Iranian epic poem based on the ancient legends of Iran . It appears in
3600-450: Was selected for competition at the FIPA festival in Biarritz in January 2005 and was nominated for three Gemini Awards. His award-winning film, Roxana , based on the novel by Daniel Defoe , was broadcast on CBC and Bravo! in February 2007. The film opened the Moving Pictures Festival in November 2006 and was selected for the competition sections of the FIPA festival in Biarritz and FamaFest in Portugal in 2007. The film won two awards at
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