Veteran actor Faramarz Qaribian bids farewell to acting

Veteran Iranian actor Faramarz Qaribian has bid farewell to acting at the age 79.

The 79-year-old star retired from his acting career on Friday after about 50 years, saying he has done his final performance in the Iranian cinema with ‘Exodus’ directed by Ebrahim Hatamikia.

He announced the withdrawal during a press conference after the premiere of ‘Exodus’ at the 38th Fajr Film Festival in Tehran’s Mellat Cinema Cineplex.

Qaribian said “I believe this film is the highlight of my acting career. I’ve read lots of screenplays during the past seven years, but I didn’t like any of them. I was waiting for something valuable to end my career with.”

“I knew playing this role would be very hard, but as it was the role of a protester and I’ve been playing protesters’ characters since the beginning of my career in movies like ‘The Deer’ by Masoud Kimiaee,” he also noted.

“I’ve become tired of the negative attitude of Iranian cinema officials, therefore I announce that ‘Exodus’ is my final film,” he added.

Noting that he was very satisfied with Qaribian’s performance in the film, Hatamikia said “I’ve never seen such a literate and disciplined actor in my life, I bow down before him.”

Born in 1941, Qaribian left his studies in acting unfinished at the School of Visual Arts in the US.

He then began working in the film industry as an assistant director and actor in ‘Come Stranger’ in 1968. He went abroad for a few years and he appeared in ‘Soil’ in 1972.

His brilliant acting in ‘The Deer’ (1974) brought him a nation-wide fame.

In the 1980s, he appeared in a number of movies and received the award of Best Actor in a Leading Role for ‘Train’ (1987) at the 6th Fajr Film Festival.

Qaribian has experienced directing with ‘Fight in Tasouki’ in 1986. Then, he continued directing and proved his skills with ‘Her Eyes’ (1999) which was screened and awarded at several global events.

Qaribian was nominated for the Best Actor award at the Fajr International Film Festival for ‘The Wolf’s Trail’ (1991). He won his first Crystal Simorgh for ‘Misty Harbor’ in 1992 and the second one for ‘The Rain Man’ in 1999.

He won the Best Actor award for ‘Dancing in the Dust’ (2002) at the Iran Cinema Celebration Awards, the Moscow International Film Festival and the Asia Pacific Film Festival.

Qaribian was nominated for Best Actor for ‘The Beautiful City’ (2003) at the Fajr Film Festival and Iran Cinema Celebration Awards, and won the Silver Peacock from the International Film Festival of India.

He won a Certificate of Merit for Best Actor from the Fajr Film Festival in 2010 for ‘Alzheimer’ (2010).

Qaribian has appeared in several movies, including ‘Ling Shadows of Wind’ (1978), ‘The Senator’ (1983), ‘Tornado’ (1985), ‘Death of a Leopard’ (1989), ‘Elephant in the Dark’ (1989), ‘The Exiles’ (1991), ‘I Want to Stay Alive’ (1994), ‘The Red Circle’ (1995), ‘The Eagle’s Eye’ (1998), ‘The Chariot of Death’ (2006), ‘The Boss’ (2006), ‘Carnival of Death’ (2008), and ‘The Sinners’ (2012).

He has also taken part in ifilm series such as ‘The Last Invitation’ (2008), ‘Day of Envy’ (2008), and ‘Lean on the Wind’ (2011).

MG/MG