Majid Niroumand
Acting
Biography
Madjid Niroumand is an Iranian educational administrator, and former child actor. He is best known for playing the lead role of Amiro in Amir Naderi's The Runner (1984), which is regarded as one of the seminal films in modern Iranian cinema. The director discovered him after a six-month search for a suitable lead, having spotted Niroumand in a newspaper photograph of four youngsters who won a race.
Known For
A young orphan named Amiro lives alone in an abandoned tanker in the Iranian port city of Abadan. He survives by shining shoes, selling water, and collecting deposit bottles. Although he sometimes finds himself at odds with both adults and competing older kids, he finds solace in dreams about departing cargo ships and airplanes—and by running.
The Runner
A young teenager returns home after an absence to find his village in Iran deserted because of an incredibly severe drought. He begins a search to find his family, traveling through an amazingly bleak and desolate landscape. Primarily an essay on the issue of humans vs. nature, the film is of interest for technical and cultural reasons.