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Actor

1979-10-08 · Tehran, Iran · Female

1 series in the catalog

Sahar Dolatshahi (Persian: سحر دولتشاهی; born on October 8, 1979) is an Iranian actress. She is best known for her roles in Ice Age (2015), Istanbul Junction (2018), The Frog (2020–2021), I Want to Live (2021), and Viper of Tehran (2024). She has received various accolades, including two Crystal Simorghs and an Iran's Film Critics and Writers Association Award.

Early life

Sahar Dolatshahi was born on October 8, 1979, in Tehran. From a young age, she held lifeguard and coaching certifications and often accompanied her mother to various competitions. She initially pursued studies in chemical engineering but later withdrew from the program. She is a graduate of Soureh International University with a degree in dramatic literature and holds a bachelor's degree in French translation from Azad University.

Family

Her mother serves as the vice-president of the Swimming Federation and is a faculty member at the Teacher Training University, while her father is a mechanical engineer. She has a sister, Nasim, and a brother, Rouzbeh. Rouzbeh is a graduate of Shahid Beheshti University and holds a master's degree in computational studies from Canada, while Nasim graduated from the University of Tehran and earned a PhD in archaeology in Berlin. The Dolatshahi family are descendants of the Qajar dynasty's Dolatshahi lineage.

Career

Sahar Dolatshahi began her acting career in experimental theater at age 20. The following year, she made her television debut in Marzieh Boroumand's series Hodhod Bookstore. Over the years, she has collaborated with prominent stage directors including Hamid Emjad, Atila Pesyani, and Amir Reza Kouhestani and starred in the play Drought and Lies.

Her stage work in Les Misérables and Tren earned her nominations for Best Theater Actress, while her role in the film Gold and Copper secured a Best Supporting Actress nomination at the Cinema Critics' Celebration. Dolatshahi's most prolific period came between 2014 and 2015, during which she appeared in eight films.

Beyond her acting career, Dolatshahi hosted the television show Gap and worked as an interviewer on The Opinions of a Cinema Actor. She also narrated the programs Radio Seven and Da Book and served as a reporter for the documentary Notes of a Crowded City.

Cinema

During her first decade in cinema, Dolatshahi collaborated with some of Iran's most distinguished directors, including Abbas Kiarostami, Bahram Beyzai, Bahman Farmanara, Asghar Farhadi, and Masoud Kimiai. Her portrayal of Niloufar in Inversion earned significant praise from international critics and is widely considered one of her finest performances; she also attended the 69th Cannes Film Festival where the film was screened.

Another milestone in her career was her role as Asal in Ice Age, which secured her first Crystal Simorgh for Best Supporting Actress. Dolatshahi further demonstrated her versatility with her performances as Mehraneh Nouri in Cold Sweat though her moloudi recitation scene was ultimately cut from the final release and as Farangis, a pregnant woman speaking with a Gilaki dialect, in Istanbul Junction.

2000s

Dolatshahi made her cinematic debut with a brief, three-scene role in Asghar Farhadi's third feature film, Fireworks Wednesday, which became one of the most-watched releases of 2006. That same year, she appeared in Rasoul Mollagholipour's M for Mother alongside Golshifteh Farahani, Ali Shadman, Hossein Yari, and Jamshid Hashempour. She portrayed Farzaneh, a journalist who uses her profession to help her friend Sepideh (played by Farahani). The film went on to become the second most-watched release of the year.

In 2008, she worked with two other acclaimed directors, appearing in Abbas Kiarostami's Shirin and Bahram Beyzai's When We Are All Asleep, which were released in spring 2009 and January 2012, respectively.

Her performance as a head nurse in Homayoun Assadian's Gold and Copper earned her a nomination for Best Supporting Actress at the 14th House of Cinema Celebration. The film itself received six nominations at the 28th Fajr Film Festival including Best Film, Director, and Screenplay with co-star Negar Javaherian winning the Crystal Simorgh for Best Actress.

In 2010, Dolatshahi starred in Kamal Tabrizi's Earth Runner and Morteza Farshbaf's Sorrow (also known as Mourning). Both films faced censorship delays, eventually receiving limited releases in 2016 and 2017 to lukewarm domestic receptions. In Sorrow, which won four awards at the Busan, Deauville, and Tallinn Black Nights international film festivals, Dolatshahi provided voice acting alongside Peyman Maadi.

2010s

In 2012, Dolatshahi starred alongside Taraneh Alidoosti, Saber Abar, and Hamidreza Azarang in the critically acclaimed Shallow Yellow Sky, which won the Crystal Simorgh for Best Editing at the 31st Fajr Film Festival. The following year, she made a brief appearance in Masoud Kimiai's Metropol. Her first leading role came in Hossein Farahbakhsh's Mastaneh, starring alongside Milad Keymaram, Baran Kosari, Atila Pesyani, and Farhad Aslani, which was released on November 19, 2014.

Also in 2014, Dolatshahi appeared in Kiarash Asadizadeh's Fissure and Mostafa Kiayi's Ice Age. Released on July 3, 2014, Ice Age featured an ensemble cast including Bahram Radan, Mahtab Keramati, Farhad Aslani, Zhaleh Sameti, Mohsen Kiayi, and Anna Nemati, and earned seven nominations at the Fajr Film Festival. Dolatshahi's performance in the film won her the Crystal Simorgh for Best Supporting Actress. Upon receiving the award, she said:"I hope this festival becomes a true celebration for the cinema family, where we reunite, enjoy watching films, and harbor fewer grievances toward one another."In 2016, Dolatshahi had five films in release. Mostafa Kiayi's Barcode, which premiered on June 8, 2016, became one of the year's top-grossing films, starring Bahram Radan, Mohsen Kiayi, Bahareh Kianafshar, Reza Kianian, and Pejman Bazeghi. Her other releases that year included Iraj Karimi's Profiles, Rouhollah Hejazi's Death of a Fish, Kamal Tabrizi's Earth Runner, and Behnam Behzadi's Inversion. Her portrayal of the lead role in Inversion earned her a Best Actress nomination at the 36th Fajr Film Festival. Following its initial public screening at Mellat Cineplex on January 28, 2016, Inversion gained international acclaim, winning Best Film at Italy's MedFilm Festival and screening in the Un Certain Regard section at the Cannes Film Festival, as well as at festivals in Vancouver, Hamburg, Cambridge, Kerala, and Dubai.

In 2018, she appeared in Bahman Farmanara's I Wanna Dance, Mostafa Kiayi's Istanbul Junction, and Soheil Biraghi's Cold Sweat. Her performances in the latter two films earned her a second Crystal Simorgh for Best Supporting Actress at the 36th Fajr Film Festival. In Cold Sweat, she portrayed a strict supervisor, wearing a chador to establish a distinct character image. Regarding a censored moloudi scene in the film, the production team stated that they had agreed to its removal to secure a public release; however, a day before the premiere, the Art Bureau boycotted the film, resulting in the loss of nearly 100 of its 120 screening venues.

Her prominence at the 36th Fajr Film Festival driven by her roles in Cold Sweat, Istanbul Junction, and Nima Eghlima's Amir made her one of the event's most talked-about actors. For her portrayal of Rima, a psychologically troubled woman in Amir, she received a Special Mention for Best Actress at the 8th Iranian Film Festival Australia. Her other release around this period was Alireza Motamedi's Reza.

Dolatshahi closed out the decade with Niki Karimi's Turkish-language romantic drama Atabai, co-starring Hadi Hejazifar and Javad Ezzati, and Farnoush Samadi's Imaginary Line (produced by Ali Mosaffa), which premiered at the 39th Fajr Film Festival and went on to screen at over 25 international festivals. By the end of the 2010s, several of her projects remained unreleased, including Lobby, Ardent…