An Oriental Fantasy Drawing

Amir F. Tehrani was born in Iran. At the age of eighteen and after finishing high school he participated in mandatory military service, where he was trained as a medic in the Military University of Iran. He then traveled to remote, outlying villages where he provided critical medical services, performed minor surgery, and actually delivered a number of babies. After that, he traveled to Venice, Italy to further his education in architecture at the L’Universita’ di Architettura di Venezia, and later at the Royal Academiy of Fine Arts, where he specialized in theatre, set architecture, art directing and other fine arts. This study included optics and directing for theatre, after which he worked as an assistant to Notable Maestro Orlandini in La Fanice opera house in Venice. He even had the fortune to work as an assistant to the great Mark Chagall, for the production of Mandragola, the masterpiece of Machiavelli. Returning home to Iran for five years, he was hired by National Iranian Radio and Television (NIRT). He was the set architect, production designer and art director for many productions, either on the sound stages or on real locations. These included: • Daii Jan Napoleon written by Mr. Iradj Pezeshkzad, and directed by Mr. Naser Taghvaii. It was a famous Iranian Television serial, consisting of 18 hours. It is considered the best Iranian serial, even today, and was produced by NIRT. He received the golden cup of the NIRT as the best set architect and production designer for that serial. • Safar e Sang, (Journey of the Stone), a film directed by Mr. Masoud Kimiaii. • Bon Bast, (Dead End), a film directed by Mr. Parviz Sayyad, who still is active in the field of theatre in Los Angeles. • Il Viaggio di Pietro della Valle, (the travel of Pietro della Valle) it was about an Italian noble- man from Padua, and his travels to the orient. This was an Iranian-Italian production, filmed mostly in south Iran, partly in the famous city of Isfahan, the ex-capital of Persia, as well as in the Persian Gulf on some of its beautiful islands. The film was a period piece, belonging to the era of the great and famous Shah Abbas, one of the Persian kings. At the end of 1977, Mr. Tehrani traveled to the United States to pursue a Master’s Degree in Mass Communications (production and techniques of motion pictures and television) from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. He won top gold medal honors as the best student.