Zavon Ghoghasyan, Critic and Film Writer, Passes Away

Zavon Ghoghasyan, a critic, writer, and documentary filmmaker in Iranian cinema, passed away after a long illness on Friday, February 19. Mr. Ghoghasyan had been hospitalized in Austria for four months and returned to Iran in early January for care; he ultimately died at his home in Isfahan on Friday afternoon. Born in 1950 in Isfahan, he pursued a career in the arts despite his academic background in chemistry, beginning his research and authorship of cinema books and oral history of Iranian cinema in 1971 with a publication about the film 'Cheshmeh' by Arbi Avanesian. Among his other contributions, he authored around 20 books about filmmakers such as Bahram Beyzai, Masoud Kimiai, Abbas Kiarostami, Bahman Farmanara, Khosrow Sinai, Golab Adineh, Reza Arham Sadr, Fatemeh Motamed-Arya, and Majid Entezami, as well as a book titled 'Bordi Az Yadam' about Loretta Nooshin. Ghoghasyan also collaborated with the Free Cinema magazine as an article writer and with various cinema publications as a critic. In 1984, he directed a war film titled 'Hame Farzandan Man'. He also produced several 8mm films and short documentaries such as 'Dar Falaq', 'Aroos-e Kohan', 'Azaye Ayneh', 'Fasli Digar', 'Haj Shivan', 'Muse-ye Man Jolfa', and 'Naqsh Khial'. Regarding his passion for cinema, Ghoghasyan shared with Mohammad Tahami-Nejad, a researcher and documentary filmmaker, that his mother, Ada Atayan, was a cinema enthusiast who went to the cinema four nights a week during the 1950s in Isfahan. This sparked his interest in cinema, leading him to buy cinema magazines. In 1970, when Arbi Avanesian came to Isfahan to film 'Cheshmeh', he visited the filming set, where Avanesian's presence and character influenced him. In 1971-72, the Free Cinema movement began in Isfahan, and he made the film 'Dar Falaq', influenced by his Christian background, Avanesian's film, and Bresson. Mr. Tahami-Nejad noted that Ghoghasyan was not the first to publish an independent book about a character in Iran, as the late Hamid Shoa'i had previously published a book about the late Sepanta. However, Ghoghasyan was the first to publish a book about a film, a pioneering effort that laid a foundation for future works that he himself would continue to pursue. According to ISNA and a friend of Ghoghasyan, his body is being kept in the morgue of the Armenian cemetery in Isfahan until a final decision is made regarding his burial. It is likely that Mr. Ghoghasyan will be buried in the Armenian cemetery next to his parents in Isfahan.