Mahmoud Kalari
Cinematographer · Born April 30, 1951 (75) · Tehran, Iran
Mahmoud Kalari (Persian: محمود کلاری; born in Tehran) is an Iranian cinematographer, screenwriter, film director, and photographer who has worked with number of renowned Iranian directors such as Abbas Kiarostami, Jafar Panahi, Asghar Farhadi, and Mohsen Makhmalbaf. After completing photography courses in the United States, he held his first photo exhibition titled "Visit with People Around Us" at Tehran University in 1976. A few years later he was employed by the Paris-based Sigma Photo News Agency and worked for them for four years. In 1980, he was ranked one of the '15 Best Photographers of the Year' by Time Magazine, and his photos could be seen in French, German, and American magazines. Kalari moved back to Iran and from 1982 to 1984 worked as the supervisor of the Tehran National TV Photography Unit. Kalari started his film career in 1984 as the cinematographer of Jadehay sard[1] (1985) (Frosty Roads) for which he won the Best Cinematography award at Tehran's Fajr International Film Festival. He has shot more than 65 films since then, including some of the most critically acclaimed and talked about movies in Iran and internationally. Among those are: Sorb[2] (1988) (winner of the best cinematography), Reyhaneh[3] (1995) (screened at San Sebastián International Film Festival), Time of Love (1990) (filmed in Turkey and screened at the Cannes Film Festival), From Karkheh to Rein (1990) (filmed in Germany and screened at the Hamburg and Mannheim Film Festivals), Sara (1992) (screened at the San Sebastián, New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago Film Festivals), Salaam Cinema (1995) (screened at the Montréal, Toronto, Los Angeles, New York, and Cannes Film Festivals), Gabbeh (1996) (screened at Cannes, Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver, New York, Los Angeles and 21 other International Film Festivals around the world, winner of Best Cinematography at Fajr International Film Festival and winner of Fujifilm Motion Picture Award), Leila (1997) (screened at 7 international film festivals and the winner of the best cinematography at Fajr Film Festival), Derakhte Golabi[4] (1998) (winner of Silver Hugo at Chicago Film Festival and chosen as the Best Motion Picture Photography by the international jury of the Fajr Film Festival), The Wind Will Carry Us (1999) for which Kalari received nominations for Best Cinematography in the Main Competition of Plus CAMEIMAGE International Film Festival of the Art of Cinematography, and Offside (2006) (screened at the Berlin, New York, and AFI Film Festivals). Kalari's directorial debut was Abe-O Aftaab (1997) on which he was also the writer and cinematographer. It was screened at the Montreal and Chicago Film Festivals and won the Best Film award at Argentina's Mardel Plata Film Festival.
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Biography from TMDB.
- April 30, 1951 (75)
- Tehran, Iran
- Cinematographer
- 9 on MovieCove · 59 credits in all
What are Mahmoud Kalari's films like?
Across their 9 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Society.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 1 · Earnest 8
A split, not a type: Light 4 · Serious 3 · Dark 2
A split, not a type: Grounded 6 · Stylized 1 · Heightened 2
A split, not a type: Gentle 4 · Charged 3 · Intense 2
Steady 6 · Shifting 2 · Whiplash 1
Straight-faced 8 · Some laughs 1 · Funny 0
Slow burn 8 · Even-paced 1 · Relentless 0
Casual 3 · Engaged 3 · Full focus 3
Easy watch 3 · Affecting 4 · Heavy 2
Resolved 1 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 8
Moods and endings
- Happy2
- Bittersweet1
- Ambiguous5
- Cyclical1
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Mahmoud Kalari's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 5 of their 9 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.
Subscription and free streaming for Mahmoud Kalari's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
59 credits, 9 with a MovieCove page; 2 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.
Summertime (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2025)
I Am Forough (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2022)
Odyssey of Solitude (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2022)
Major (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2021)
Killer Spider (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2020)
Columbus (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2018)
Pig (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2018)
Bomb: A Love Story (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2018)
Sperm Whale: Roya's Selection (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2017)
Ferrari (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2017)
Cahiers du Film (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2016)
Bodyguard (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2016)
Apparition (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2014)
Fish & Cat(2013)
Midcredits score: 77th percentile of all films
The Past(2013)
Midcredits score: 96th percentile of all films
The Snow on the Pines (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2013)
Mainline (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2011)
A Separation(2011)
Midcredits score: 99th percentile of all films
Blood Orange (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2010)
Forties (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2010)
Shirin(2008)
Midcredits score: 69th percentile of all films
Hot Chocolate (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2009)
Persian Carpet (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2007)
The Fish Fall in Love(2005)
Midcredits score: 75th percentile of all films
Bab'Aziz (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2006)
Offside(2006)
Midcredits score: 91st percentile of all films
Havana File (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2006)
Men at Work (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2006)
The Willow Tree (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2005)
Cinema Iran (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2005)
Tickets (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2005)
Friday's Soldiers (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2004)
Abadan (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2004)
Midcredits score: 86th percentile of all films
Boutique (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2003)
A House Built on Water (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2002)
The Hidden Half (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2001)
Water and Fire (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2001)
Tales of an Island (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2000)
The Wind Will Carry Us(1999)
Midcredits score: 94th percentile of all films
Siavash (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1999)
Leila (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1999)
The Pear Tree (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1998)
Red (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1998)
Cloud and the Rising Sun (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1997)
A Moment of Innocence (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1997)
Gabbeh(1996)
Midcredits score: 80th percentile of all films
The Trade (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1996)
Salaam Cinema (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1995)
Sara (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1993)
The Wolf's Trail (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1993)
The Sergeant (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1992)
Love-Stricken (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1992)
Two and a Half Men (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1991)
Time of Love (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1991)
Mother (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1990)
The Lead (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1989)
The Stone Lion (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1987)
Look Into My Eyes (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Career shape
A full career of 58 titles, 57 of them dated from 1987 to 2025.
Film career
- 2018Screen debut· Bomb: A Love Story
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.
How do Mahmoud Kalari's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 86th percentile, the median of all 9; across their 9 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 83rd percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up8
- 50th to 74th1
Shape of the crowd
3 of their 9 titles are Universally Loved.
- Universally Loved3
- Crowd Pleaser3
- Mixed3
Reviewers score the cinematography 79/100 in their films, across 9 reviewed titles; fans 82, detractors 56. The element that speaks to their work as a cinematographer.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Who does Mahmoud Kalari work with?
People who share at least 2 of Mahmoud Kalari's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Babak Karimi shares the most, 3.
Directors
- Asghar FarhadiShared titles: The Past (2013), A Separation (2011)See all 2 shared titles with Asghar Farhadi
- Abbas KiarostamiShared titles: Shirin (2008), The Wind Will Carry Us (1999)See all 2 shared titles with Abbas Kiarostami
Actors
- Babak KarimiShared titles: Fish & Cat (2013), The Past (2013), A Separation (2011)See all 3 shared titles with Babak Karimi
- Leila HatamiShared titles: A Separation (2011), Shirin (2008)See all 2 shared titles with Leila Hatami
- Golshifteh FarahaniShared titles: Shirin (2008), The Fish Fall in Love (2005)See all 2 shared titles with Golshifteh Farahani
