ViSION FORWARD

Payam Films carries a family heritage beyond the name. Around 1919, my grandfather established a printing house in Tehran called “Payam Publishing”. (The Persian word translates to “Message” in English.) Around that time, Iran was undergoing a major transformation in the aftermath of a constitutional revolution. Official Identification documents and registered last names became the law of the land. My grandfather chose the name Payami as an extension of his passion project that he had built from the ground up. He later started a weekly publication called the “Payam Newspaper”, a progressive publication that covered arts, culture and, of course politics. by 1957, “Payam Newspaper” was banned by the government and he retired, leaving the printing house to my uncle and later to my cousin. “Payam Publishing” continues to this day and is Tehran’s oldest operating printing house!

I established Payam Films  in the mid 1990’s in honour of my grandfather Mohammad Payami who was a visionary and an inspiration to anyone who knew him. Like countless others, I am grateful for the passion for art and culture that he instilled in me.

Babak Payami