“My name is John Ford and I make Westerns.” This is how John Ford introduced himself at the American Film Directors’ Association gathering. Negahdar Jamali, an Iranian from Shiraz, introduced himself the same way when director Kamran Heidari first met him, without knowing John Ford that well: “My name is Negahdar Jamali and I make Westerns.” He introduced himself with self-confidence and without any weakness in his statement—not in the Monument Valley or in the Grand Canyon, but in Shiraz and the deserts surrounding the city. Under hard conditions, Jamali has been making Western films continuously for the past thirty-five years, and in this documentary, Heidari presents Jamali’s struggle with his family, friends, society, and others to make what he likes the most in his life: Western movies.

Join Asia Society at the Movies for a weekend-long screening of My Name Is Negahdar Jamali and I Make Westerns.

The film is presented as part of So You Think You Know Iran, a six-film series presented throughout April, featuring documentaries from Iran that invite audiences to discover a lesser-known view of the country.

How to Watch the Film

Beginning April 22 at 5 p.m. New York time until April 25 at 5 p.m. New York time, My Name Is Negahdar Jamali and I Make Westerns will be available to stream online via Eventive, with a 24-hour viewing window once the screening has started. Register now.

Outside of the above viewing window, My Name Is Negahdar Jamali and I Make Westerns is available to watch with a Docunight subscription.

My Name Is Negahdar Jamali
Iran | 64 minutes | 2012

Genre: Documentary
Director: Kamran Heidari
Editing: Bahman Kiarostami
Language: Persian
Subtitles: English

This program is presented by Asia Society Museum and Asia Society Southern California as part of a series titled Asia Society at the Movies.

Screening event courtesy Docunight
Docunight launched in 2014 as a monthly screening featuring Iranian documentaries in North America, and expanded to twenty-five cities by 2020. After screenings were stopped due to the pandemic, Docunight transitioned into a streaming platform with the goal of becoming an online library for documentaries from or about Iran. Docunight recently expanded its collection to include documentaries about Afghanistan as well. To date, Docunight has about 200 films with new documentaries added each week.

Docunight is an initiative undertaken by the Kiarostami Foundation, a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit based in California.

Asia Society at the Movies
Asia Society at the Movies is a series of film screenings and conversations showcasing a broad range of films and filmmakers from across Asia and the Asian diaspora. Asia Society at the Movies celebrates established and emerging voices, contemporary films and classics, and documentaries. The series builds on Asia Society’s long and rich history of film programming. This initiative also serves to deepen understanding of Asian cultures—a core part of Asia Society’s mission since its creation. Learn more about the Asia Society at the Movies initiative.

About Asia Society Museum
Asia Society Museum presents a wide range of traditional, modern, and contemporary exhibitions of Asian and Asian American art, taking new approaches to familiar masterpieces and introducing under-recognized arts and artists. The Asia Society Museum Collection comprises a traditional art collection, including the initial bequests of Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd, and a contemporary art collection. Through exhibitions and public programs, Asia Society provides a forum for the issues and viewpoints reflected in both traditional and contemporary Asian art and in Asia today.

About Asia Society Southern California
Established in Los Angeles in 1985, Asia Society Southern California (ASSC) is ideally situated at the gateway to the Asia-Pacific region. ASSC has played a pivotal role through creative programs and activities in increasing shared knowledge, enhancing dialogue, and furthering cultural exchanges transcending regional boundaries. As part of the global Asia Society, which was founded more than 60 years ago in New York City, ASSC has launched many creative initiatives and programs addressing current issues of importance across the fields of the arts, culture, policy, business, and education.