Kobra Amin-Saeedi, better known by her artistic name Shahrzad, one of the pioneering female filmmakers and a remarkable actress of pre-revolution Iranian cinema, passed away on Monday, August 18, 2025, at the age of 75. The news of her death was first shared through her Instagram page and soon resonated widely among artists and cinephiles.
Born in Tehran on December 9, 1950, Shahrzad began her artistic career as a teenager on the stages of Lalehzar. At the age of 19, she gained national recognition with her unforgettable role as Soheila Ferdous in Masoud Kimiai’s classic “Qeysar” (1969). Throughout the 1970s, she collaborated with leading directors such as Masoud Kimiai, Ali Hatami, Amir Naderi, Nosrat Karimi, Kamran Shirdel, and Jalal Moghadam. Her performances in Dash Akol, The Fourth Day Morning, Tight Spot (Tangna), and Baluch remain part of Iran’s cinematic memory.
Beyond acting, Shahrzad was also a poet and writer. Her poetry collection “We Grow Old with Thirst” was published before the revolution, while her short stories appeared in leading literary outlets such as Ayandegan and Ketab-e Jom’e. The renowned writer Ebrahim Golestan once recalled how her poems moved the celebrated poet Mehdi Akhavan-Sales to tears.
In 1977, Shahrzad directed her first and only feature film, “Maryam and Mani”, in which both the protagonist and the filmmaker were women—an exceptionally rare achievement in Iranian cinema at the time. The film, starring Poori Banaei, was banned upon release and only screened later in 1980.
The trajectory of her life changed drastically after the 1979 Revolution. Shahrzad left for Germany for a time but eventually returned to Iran. She endured years of financial hardship, illness, and social marginalization—at one point revealing that she had been forced to sleep in parks. She was also briefly imprisoned during early revolutionary protests, an experience that left deep scars. Her turbulent journey was documented in the film “Shahrzad” by Mehran Zeynatzadeh.
In recent years, images and videos of Shahrzad’s frail figure circulated online, sparking waves of empathy and sorrow. Following her passing, tributes poured in across social media, including heartfelt memories from actress Poori Banaei, her co-star in Qeysar.
Shahrzad’s legacy as an actress, poet, and pioneering female filmmaker stands as a testament to the courage and creative resilience of women in Iranian art. Her life, filled with both brilliance and hardship, remains a powerful reminder of how cinema and literature can carry voices that refuse to be silenced.
