- Born
- Height5′ 7″ (1.70 m)
- Daryush Shokof is an artist and film-maker who left Iran in the 1970s for the U.S. and under the name of AliReza Shokoufandeh. He studied mathematics and physics at E.N.M.U. and then went on to get a masters degree in management from U.D. in Texas. He became a full-time artist in Germany where he moved to from New York in early 1980s. He coined the term maximalism in the arts in 1990 in Cologne Germany, and together with many of the artists of the time they made many exhibitions under the maximalists at Gallery Schulze in Cologne in 1990, both in Europe and in the U.S. He first made a name for himself as a script-writer by copying works from two great directors of the time Federico Fellini, and Pier Paolo Pasolini, changing the names of the characters and some situations and presented them to his father as his own works, which made his father believe he was a genius. He was soon the talk of a bigger circle of friends and family and had to write at a level to match his great idols from the age of eleven years. None of his writings ever showed any promise until finally and at age 42 he wrote a story which attracted the attention of two of the legendary names of cinema. Marlon Brando and Anthony Quinn both wanted to have the lead in Seven Servants. Quinn played the role along with David Warner, who played the role offered to Norman Mailer (who was so in admiration of the story that refused to play the role saying his acting was not up to the task). In the next 10 years he did more than 12 feature films and 10 short films with great originality both in writing and directing. He has made his movies through the help of private friends and contribution and cooperation from a great many professionals who believed and supported in his abilities as a film-maker. He has never had any of his movies released to the public and has never received any funding for any of his films from any official film industry companies, or from any country. He continues making films under amazing conditions, which in itself is truly a story to make a film about.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Candice Fadel
- Daryush Shokof introduced the methods of "Amenic Filmmaking", in Berlin, Germany in 2011. He made more than 5 feature films under his method of "Amenic" in which he simply explained these films are first finished and screened and then the "script" is written. Babylon Cinemas in Berlin, Germany showed his "Amenic" films in a short festival presentation with Flushers, Wordlessness, Strange Stranger and the short film Blind Paris in 2014.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Sharon Hassid
- Has always made films unique with titles
- Has always made movies with most original concepts created by himself
- Has always made movies that challenged deep rooted taboos on earth
- Made "Amenic film process" a trademark coined by him in Germany in 2014.
- Uses watermelons, and grapes or greens in at least one scene in most his films
- His sister is Arezou Beik.
- Alfred Hitchcock is his favorite Director.
- Contributed his all woman film Breathful to freedom of women in Iran in 2007.
- Has been an active voice against the Islamic Republic of Iran for many years.
- Went on a hunger strike for 7 days in Berlin for freedom of women, and respecting human rights in Islamic Republic government ruling his home land, Iran today.
- The most stupid thing in making independent movies is to copy Hollywood films as an independent film-maker. It is more stupid to try to make them with 2 Dollars and try your best to explain what all the pain you went through making that shot.
- (on differences between a European and American film) European films are not successful cause they are constructed respecting a system. you get a loan from any small mafia type pizza restaurant owner around the block to make your film in the USA and the results are so vivid you can smell the pizza.
- (Regarding how he chooses his concepts) I always made films with a (what if) factor, and the concepts seem original cause I have envisioned them with no respect to any films and or genres previously. I have never said to myself that now I am going to make a thriller. I made a movie and it became what it is. A complete confusion as a genre.
- (On Seven Servants and the importance of Freedom, and Independence in creating creative works) Seven Servants is not a film. It is actually a conceptual work created in complete freedom of mind and has not been made respecting any standards. That is why it will always remain a question how to see, read and rate it? I will remain thankful forever to the freedom the west gave me for making all my works, even though no institute paid a penny to produce them anywhere in the west.
- (After the screening of (Asudem) at Babylon cinema in Berlin) There was one source of light throughout the film and I used it as a brush of painting in the hands of Yangzom Brauen to light up the scenes (most brilliantly) with me.
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