Sayyed Mortaza Avini

He was born in 1947 in the city of Rey, south of Tehran. His father was a mining engineer. He pursued his primary and secondary educations in the cities of Zanjan, Kerman and Tehran and graduated in 1965. In the same year, he enrolled in the Faculty of Fine Arts, the University of Tehran to study architecture. He used to both study and work. In 1975, Avini received a master’s degree in architecture. After the victory of the Islamic Revolution of Iran, he entered the field of filmmaking. He joined the Jehad-e Sazandegi TV Unit and began making documentaries. His first film was about the flood that occurred in Khuzestan in 1358 (AH. Solar). His next documentaries were called “Shesh Rouz Dar Turkmansahra” [1] and “Khan Gazideh-ha” [2] which covered anti-revolutionary activities in the Gonbad region, and the khans (a title given to rulers) of the Firouzabad region of Fars respectively.

At the outset of the Iran-Iraq War and the siege of the port of Khorramshahr, Avini went to Khorramshahr where he made the film “Fath-e Khun” [3] with the help of his colleagues. Later on, he created a television series called “Haqqiqat”  [4] which was about the city of Abadan. Avini’s most famous work was a television series called “Revayat-e Fath” [5], which has been broadcast on television since 1985. Revayat-e Fath was so successful and attracted the attention of many viewers because it showed the true face of the war between Iran and Iraq. In this documentary, Avini was both the writer and the narrator.

Apart from making documentaries, he also had a notable activity in the press. His articles were first published in the “Etesam” monthly journal and later in the “Jihad” journal. Since 1989, he was writing articles in “Surah” monthly magazine of which he was the editor for some time. He wrote more than 2,500 pages for Surah magazine. Among his other works was publishing a monthly fiction magazine and establishing “The Office of Religious Studies of Art.” In 1995, Avini began making “Revayat-e Fath” documentary film and therefore he travelled to different war zones. He had heard that corridors have been discovered in the Fakkeh area in which the bodies of dozens of Iranian fighters have been found. On April 9, 1993, Avini and his colleagues went to Fakkeh. While checking the location of the new episode of “Revayat-e Fath” in that area, Avini was hit by a mine explosion. After the explosion, Avini lost his leg and then he was martyred on the way to the hospital due to the severity of blooding. Mr. Said Yazdanparast was also martyred in the incident. Avini made Twenty-five documentary films all of which were broadcasted by state television. Also, his writings have been published in twelve volumes of books so far.

[1] Six Days in the Turkmensahra Region

[2] Victims of the Rulers (Khans)

[3] Blood Victory

[4] The Truth

[5] The Narration of Victory