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Mina Kavani
مینا کاوانی
Kavani at the 2023 Berlin International Film Festival
Born	Mina Khosrovani May 23 Tehran, Iran
Citizenship	Iran France
Alma mater	Tehran School of Dramatic Arts (B.A.)
Occupation	Actress
Years active	2010–present

Mina Khosrovani (Persian: مینا خسروانی; born May 23), known professionally as Mina Kavani (مینا کاوانی), is an Iranian-French actress. She is best known for her role in No Bears (2022), which won the Special Jury Prize at the 79th Venice International Film Festival.

Early life and career

Mina Kavani was born in Tehran. Brought up into an artistic family, and niece of the well-known film and play director Ali Raffi, she graduated from the Conservatoire national supérieur d'art dramatique (CNSAD) in Paris.

Fascinated by acting from an early age, she started participating regularly at her uncle's rehearsals at the age of twelve. At sixteen she made her debut in the play It Doesn't Snow in Egypt under the direction of her uncle and on the stage of Tehran's City Theatre, inaugurating her career in Iran as a stage actress. She soon had roles in plays such as: Othello (Desdemona), Antigone (Antigone), La Musica and J'étais dans ma maison et j'attendais que la pluie vienne.

Kavani has collaborated with some of Iran's most crucial film and theatre directors. At the age of twenty-three, she moved back to Paris and entered the Conservatoire National Supérieur as part of the Jean Damien Barbin's class, during the time in which Daniel Mesguich was the director.

In 2012, she voiced the role of Sahar in the Oscar winning film Argo directed by Ben Affleck.

In 2013, Kavani played the protagonist Sara in Sepideh Farsi's film Red Rose. The film was presented on international festivals such as the Toronto Film Festival, the Festival de Marrakech, and the Chicago International Film Festival. Due to the film containing some nudity, Kavani became the centre of threats made by the Iranian media, resulting in her exile. She received her political refugee status with the support of Isabelle Huppert and Bertrand Bonello who had praised her performance in the movie.

In 2014, Kavani performed on the stage of l'Odéon-Théâtre de l'Europe, reciting poems by the Iranian contemporary poet Forugh Farrokhzad under the direction of Roland Timsit. In 2015, she appeared at Auditorium Orchestre National de Lyon with the notable French actor Jean-Damien Barbin, performing Happy Days Shakespeare.

In the same year, she was chosen as one of the juries (next to actress Marisa Berenson) at the Rencontre Cinemathographique de Cannes. Patrick de Carolis was the president of the jury.

In 2015 and 2016, she portrayed the celebrated contemporary Austrian poet Ingeborg Bachmann in the play Malina by Barbara Hutt, during the Festival d'Avignon. In 2016, she played Lili in the short film Sous Transe by Moroccan filmmaker Camélia Montassere.

In 2017–18, Kavani played the role of Ipek in Snow, a theatrical adaptation of the eponymous novel by Turkish writer Orhan Pamuk (winner of the 2006 Nobel Prize in Literature) directed by Blandine Savetier of the National Theatre of Strasbourg (TNS). The play was performed all over France and China.

Personal life

Kavani moved to France in 2010 and acquired French citizenship.

Filmography

Film

Notes

1. Kavani became a French citizen.

References

1. ^ Dupuis, Nathalie (October 12, 2022). "Mina Kavani : " Projeter des films iraniens, c'est faire un bras d'honneur à ceux qui nous oppressent "". Elle (in French).
2. ^ "Mina Kavani: "To screen Iranian films is to give the finger of honor to those who oppress us"". Trend Detail News. October 12, 2022.
3. ^ "Mina Khosravani in French Movie Red Rose". rouzegareno.ir (in Persian). Retrieved 2014-07-09.
4. "استایل خاص "مینا کاوانی" روی فرش قرمز ونیز - آفتاب". 35981988.khabarban.com. Retrieved 2022-11-09.
5. پوشش متفاوت «مینا کاوانی» روی فرش قرمز جشنواره ونیز/ عکس. اقتصادنیوز اقتصادنیوز (in Persian). Retrieved 2022-11-09.
6. Didaremrooz. مینا کاوانی: این‌قدر نقش آدم‌های بدبخت به ما ندهید؛زنان ایرانی مدرن و قوی هستند. دیدار امروز (in Persian). Retrieved 2022-11-09.
7. ^ "Mina KAVANI". agencesartistiques.com (in French). Retrieved 2014-07-09.
8. Kotzathanasis, Panos (November 6, 2022). "Interview With Mina Kavani: Whatever the Limitations Are, Iranian Directors Always Find Ways to Make Their Movies". Asian Movie Pulse.
9. Zilko, Christian (2022-10-10). "Jafar Panahi Shares Statement at NYFF: 'The Hope of Creating Again Is a Reason for Existence'". IndieWire. Retrieved 2022-11-12.
10. Kotzathanasis, Panos (2022-11-06). "Interview With Mina Kavani: Whatever the Limitations Are, Iranian Directors Always Find Ways to Make Their Movies". Asian Movie Pulse. Retrieved 2022-11-12.
11. Trabattoni2022-09-12T08:17:00+01:00, Alina. "Venice 2022 draws to an emotional close, underlines solidarity with detained Iranian filmmakers". Screen. Retrieved 2022-11-12.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
12. "مینا کاوانی: این‌قدر نقش آدم‌های بدبخت به ما ندهید؛زنان ایرانی مدرن و قوی هستند". sarpoosh (in Persian). 2022-09-11. Retrieved 2022-11-09.
13. "مینا کاوانی: این‌قدر نقش آدم‌های بدبخت و خاک بر سر را به ما زنان ندهید /زنان ایرانی مدرن و قوی هستند !". رکنا (in Persian). Retrieved 2022-11-09.
14. "مینا کاوانی: این قدر نقش آدم های بدبخت و خاک بر سر را به ما زنان ندهید - زنان ایرانی مدرن و قوی هستند !". برخط نیوز (in Persian). Retrieved 2022-11-09.
15. Balmer, Crispian (September 9, 2022). "Empty chair for jailed Iranian Director at Venice film fest". Reuters.
16. Goodfellow, Melanie (11 May 2022). "Celluloid Dreams to launch Jafar Panahi's new film 'No Bears' at Cannes (exclusive)". Screen Daily. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
17. "La Sirène | The Siren - Panorama 2023". www.berlinale.de. Retrieved 2023-05-21.
18. Ritman, Alex (2023-05-05). "Cannes: Golshifteh Farahani, Zar Amir-Ebrahimi to Lead Eran Riklis' Adaptation of Iranian Novel 'Reading Lolita in Tehran'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2023-05-05.

External links

• Mina Kavani at IMDb
• Profile at SourehCinema

• Living people
• Actresses from Tehran
• Iranian film actresses
• Iranian stage actresses
• Iranian emigrants to France
• Iranian diaspora film people
• 20th-century Iranian actresses
• 21st-century Iranian actresses
• Naturalized citizens of France