Kianoush Ayari (Persian: کیانوش عیاری, born May 14, 1951) is an Iranian writer and director. He is famous for his realistic style and unique stories like heart transplantation in his movie Boodan yaa naboodan or fate of a teacher after the horrible Bam earthquake in Wake Up, Arezu!. He was born in the city of Ahvaz, southwest of Iran. Ayari started his cinematic career by making 8mm short films. His first professional movie was Tanooreyeh Div. His movie Abadani-ha won the Silver Leopard for the best Movie at Locarno Film Festival in 1994. His most controversial movie The Paternal House was screened at 69th Venice Film Festival but yet to be screened publicly in Iran as of december 2016 but was screened at a few cinemas in United States of America. Mehdi Hashemi, one of the best actors of Iranian theatre and cinema has played the main actor role in his movies for the last two decades, including: Thousand Eyes (TV Series), Roozegar-e Gharib (TV Series), The Paternal House and his latest movie Kanape’.

-When “Wake Up, Arezu!” was made, I did not think it was a movie for public release. I thought this film should be able to stimulate the minds of the forgetful authorities in connection with the earthquake. Iran is on one of the most terrible earthquake lines in the world, and that is unfortunately forgotten. When “Wake Up, Arezu!” was awarded at the Fajr Film Festival, I told the officials of the venue at the age of the Vahdat Hall that the film was not made for screenings in cinemas and festivals, that I made a movie that does not descend on the water of the officials. , But virtually no one saw this film. At that time, I did not like making public films, because I think the film is more painful than the earthquake itself. It was only once that the documentary was screened during the eruption of the Varzaghan earthquake in the East Azarbaijan province, but was displayed in a falsehood, as no one knew it was going to be broadcast. Thus, it can be said that this goal and the good water of the authorities of downsizing by the film actually broke down because they did not create the conditions for the film to appear. I should not do that, others should create the conditions that the officials See the movie. Is not it to be that there is an earthquake in Bam, Varzgan, and now this earthquake that I do not know what should I name? Earthquake west of the country This strange quake that is felt simultaneously in different geographic districts, for example, in the middle and eastern parts of Iran, but not in Pakistan, Kuwait, Egypt or Turkey! Is not it to be that there is an earthquake in Bam, Varzgan, and now this earthquake that I do not know what should I name? Earthquake west of the country This strange quake that is felt simultaneously in different geographic districts, for example, in the middle and eastern parts of Iran, but not in Pakistan, Kuwait, Egypt or Turkey! Is not it to be that there is an earthquake in Bam, Varzgan, and now this earthquake that I do not know what should I name? Earthquake west of the country This strange quake that is felt simultaneously in different geographic districts, for example, in the middle and eastern parts of Iran, but not in Pakistan, Kuwait, Egypt or Turkey!

-When we made the film three times, we went to Bam every three and every 30.35 days, and then we returned, the reason for our returns was that some children and myself had a lot of psychological stress for being in that environment. Of course, the third time we returned because of our money being torn down. On one of these trips we went to the cemetery, where I saw a 40 year old man angry and grabbed his hand to the grave and shouted: “I wish you to get up” and the head of a dead child shouted, it seemed crazy … I summarized the film there for myself, and then I got this scene. There is a place in the movie that Mehran Rajabi Shafeganam, who finds the bodies and looks at these five, six bodies, and the same thing I said to him, besides the fire that is clear, and, without noticing the people around him, these dialogues Repeat, I wish you to wake up … This was the origin of the name of the film.

Based on Kianoush Ayari’s conversation about “Wake Up, Arezu!”