Bam 6.6 - Humanity Has No Borders

Jahangir Golestan-Parast, producer and director of Bam 6.6, was born in Isfahan, Iran, on April 4, 1951 and raised in a family of restaurateurs. Leaving Iran at the age of 17, Jahangir pursued educational studies and business interests in London and France before finally settling in southern California's Orange County. 

He has lived in four countries and traveled to nearly 40 countries, which has provided him with a unique perspective on the many cultures that comprise today's world.

An international financier and a student of film making at UCLA, Jahangir's first documentary Isfahan, A City Known as Half the World was based on the city of his birth and released in 1997. Expanding that effort into a series known as "The Essence of Iran Series", "Iran, a Video Journey" was released in 2000 and captures the life of a typical modern-day Iranian. Both films have achieved critical acclaim and accolades.

His desire to make films was initially kindled as a young teenager watching American films in Iranian movie theaters. Many years later, the personal abuses depicted in Sally Fields' "Not Without My Daughter" moved him to action. It solidified an overwhelming passion to inform and educate the world about the true texture of the Iranian culture and people.

As Jahangir was preparing to produce a third video in the Essence of Iran series, the Bam earthquake struck. As he experienced the worldwide outpouring of assistance, Jahangir realized that there was a story to be told. A story, not of devastation, but of hope. A story that could help ease ethnic tensions based on misunderstandings and unfounded beliefs. A story that would transcend geo-political differences. Despite numerous personal and financial difficulties over a three-year period, Jahangir was able to announce the completion of Bam 6.6 during a Voice of America interview in December 2006.