Dr. Granaz Moussavi

Poet – Writer – Director

Dr. Granaz Moussavi was born in Tehran. She started writing professionally as a book review writer and literary critic at Donyaye Sokhan magazine in Tehran at the age of 17.

Her first poems were published when she was almost 16 years old and since then has continued writing and publishing poetry in various magazines and anthologies, firstly in Iran and then other countries ever since.

Dr. Moussavi’s first collection, Sketching on the Night, was published underground in Tehran in 1996. Although this was an underground book, M. Azad, a well-known poet and critic in an article in Adineh literary magazine, introduced the book as “alternative”, “extremely creative”, and “a fresh experience in imagery and poetic language”.

Her second book, Barefoot Till Morning was the winner of Karnameh’s best poetry book of the year award in 2001 and is currently re-published its fourth edition.

Dr. Moussavi published her third collection The Songs of the Forbidden Woman in 2003. It has reached its second edition so far.  In 2005, her collection of poetry The survivors of Patience was published in France/Saint Nazaire.

To date, her poetry is translated and published in 9 languages while she has presented her poetry in various poetry festivals, seminars, and symposiums including the Paris festival, SOAS and Stanford Universities, Mondorf conference, and Caravan of poetry through France.

Dr. Moussavi studied drama in Tehran/Iran 1991-94 and continued her studies in Australia entering a BA course in Screen Studies in 1998; and finished an honours degree at Flinders University in 2002. She is a graduate from Postgraduate degree in film editing from Australian Film School (AFTRS) and she has successfully completed a Doctorate in Film Studies and Filmmaking in University of Western Sydney in 2013 with a thesis project on the aesthetics of poetic cinema.

Dr. Moussavi has made several short films and documentaries. Her debut feature film My Tehran For Sale won an Australian IF award for best independent film and was internationally premiered in Toronto film festival.