Interview With Director Ali Zamani

Recently, we sat down director Ali Zamani to talk about his music videos and his career. Ali Zamani's been actively making music videos for many years and we have over 70 of his videos on RJ. He's worked on many hit videos for Ebi, Googoosh, Black Cats, Shohreh, Shahram Solati, Shahyad, Erfan, and many more.

RJ: When did you take an interest in becoming a director? Was this always your dream job?

I always had an interest in visual story telling from a young age. I would draw sketches and tell stories to friends and family. It was always a passion of mine, and being able to work in the entertainment industry is a dream come true.

RJ: What was the first project you worked on?

My first short films I directed while at college in the UK in 2004. However, my first music video was for Shahyad "Bikhiyaali" in 2006. We shot that video in the space of three days. A lot of my close friends helped me make that video happen acting as crew members and cast.

RJ: You have directed many videos for non-Iranian artists. What would you say is the major difference between them and the Iranian artists when it comes to a music video?

Individual artists are different so it's difficult to differentiate between Persian and non-Persian artists as a whole. However the budgets for non-Persian artists are most of the time larger so it's possible to incorporate more elements to achieve higher production value and enables me to more fully execute my visions. But at the end of the day, creating music videos for talented artists from the same culture and heritage has greater personal satisfaction to me.  

RJ: What do you think makes your work different and more appealing than the rest?

I don't know if my work is more appealing than others, but with each project I do, regardless of who it is for, I make sure its given my 100% creative input and attention to detail. 

RJ: First thing that comes to mind when Ali Zamani has directed a video is provocative and full of beautiful ladies. Tell us what it's like for you to do that in the Iranian music industry.

Lol, hey why not be a little against the grain... we have too many taboos in our culture... plus nothing wrong with beauty!

RJ: You have produced a featured film "Somebody Help Me 2" back in 2010. Are you planning on doing more of these films?

Actually my brother Zeus produced that movie. He also just finished producing his second feature film called "The Helpers", a horror flick, which is due to be released by Lions Gate later this year.

RJ: Which work of yours would you say made you the Ali Zamani you are today?

Each and every project is still very much a learning experience for me and they have all added to my overall skill set and style as a director in their own unique ways.  

RJ: Where do you see yourself going in the coming years?

I am currently in development stages of a feature length movie which I've written and we are looking to go into production at some point this year, so STAY TUNED!

RJ: Are there any upcoming projects that you'd like to give a sneak peak of, to your RJ fans?

I just finished shooting a video for Baby Bash featuring Slim Thug.

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