Ever since Pouria was a child he envisioned every piece of music he
heard, every story he read; even down to the very thoughts that crossed
his mind. And with this flair for transforming the intangible into the
visual, he breathed new life into everything he encountered. This gift,
blessed upon him from above, has been burning in his soul for years;
begging to break through. What better medium to express his capacity
for imagery than film?
At fourteen, he was introduced to the M.T.O. Shahmaghsoudi School of
Sufism. This was the turning point in his life. Little did he realize
what a dramatic effect it would have on not only his spiritual being
and perception, but also on his sense of creativity. Spiritually, its
teachings found a home in his heart and opened his eyes to the beauty
of life-filling every day with joy, peace and tranquility. But in terms
of expanding his imagination, he spent countless hours on creating
images out of stories and lessons he heard at the Sufi classes.
Once exposed to the art of filmmaking, he learned not only how to
interpret his thoughts into reality, but also that he was not the only
one with a vision. Though his family was instrumental, there were many
other dear individuals who helped shape his creative drive: The
picturesque poetry of Akira Kurosawa, Andrei Tarkovsky, Sergei
Paradjanov, and Theo Angelopoulos; the wit and genius of Woody Allen;
the boldness of Martin Scorsese and Spike Lee; the simplicity of Abbas
Kiarostami, Ingmar Bergman, Wim Wenders, and Dariush Mehrjui; and
finally, the beautiful and inspirational writings of Rumi, Ralph Waldo
Emerson, Hafiz, Oscar Wild, Maurice Maeterlinck and Kahlil Gibran; but
these are merely a glimpse of the multitude of artists which have
inspired him.
After enrolling into film school, he dived into the world of filmmaking
and ever since he has worked on numerous film sets one after another,
for he knew that it would be the only true way of learning. He loves
and lives for composition. Even when it comes to his own films, he
cannot separate the director from the cinematographer. He directs with
the camera.
Pouria shot his first film entitled "Majnun's Way Found", a surreal
look into the life of a young man filled with longing, in Spring 2003,
shot The Tulip Grower (2005)
in 2004 and
Shams & Rumi: The Fragrance of Axis Mundi (2006)
in Fall 2005. Pouria spent the latter part of 2006 traveling around the
world to Australia, Africa and all over Europe as the cinematographer
for a major feature documentary-a life changing experience for him.
