Mahmoud Kalari was born on April 30, 1951, in Tehran, Iran. After completing photography courses in the United States, he held his first photo exhibition titled "Visit with People Around Us" at Tehran University in 1976.
A few years later, he became employed by Paris-based Sigma Photo News Agency and worked for them for four years. In 1980, he was ranked one of the '15 Best Photographers of the Year' by Time Magazine, and his photos could be seen in French, German, and American magazines.
Kalari moved back to Iran and from 1982 to 1984 worked as the supervisor of the Tehran National TV Photography Unit and taught photojournalism at Tehran University as a guest professor.
Kalari started his film career in 1984 as the cinematographer of Frosty Roads (1985) for which he won the Best Cinematography award at Tehran's Fajr International Film Festival. He has shot more than 65 films since then, including some of the most critically acclaimed and talked about movies in Iran and internationally.
Some of his notable works include The Lead (1989),Reyhaneh (1990),Nobat e Asheghi (1995),From Karkheh to Rein (1990),Sara (1993),Hello Cinema (1995),Gabbeh (1996),Leila (1997),The Pear Tree (1998),The Wind Will Carry Us (1999),and Offside (2006).
Kalari's directorial debut is The Cloud and the Rising Sun (1998),on which he was also the writer and cinematographer. It was screened at Montreal and Chicago Film Festivals and won the Best Film award at Argentina Mardel Plata Film Festival.
Kalari was selected as a Jury Panelist for Poland Film Festival both in 1999 and 2000. In 2001, Nant Festival in Paris held a tribute to his work as a photographer and exhibited his photographs. In 2005, he won the best cinematography award for Bab'Aziz: The Prince That Contemplated His Soul (2005) from the Tatarstan International Muslim Film Festival.
Later, a gallery of his photos shot during the Iranian Revolution of 1979 was opened to the public, and a photo book of his work from that era was published. Kalari's work on the internationally critically acclaimed and Oscar-winning film, A Separation (2011),earned him a Silver Frog from Plus CAMEIMAGE International Film Festival of the Art of Cinematography in 2011.
He has brought the vision of many great Iranian directors to life, including Masud Kimiai, Ali Hatami, Dariush Mehrjui, Mohsen Makhmalbaf, Tahmineh Milani, Palme d'Or winner Abbas Kiarostami, Oscar nominee Majid Majidi, and Oscar winner Asghar Farhadi. Kalari has had workshops in different cities of Iran and teaches cinematography as he continues to shoot.
