Babak Radmehr

When I was two years old, during the Iran-Iraq War, my brother put headphones on me with music from Pink Floyd, Bee Gees, and others to distract me from the sound of bombs falling on our city. This is where my sense of comfort through music, and later dance, began to grow. During my youth, I was part of a dance theater group, and I was fascinated by the idea of embodying a different personality. This is how I would explain my initial love for art.

As a child from a conservative academic family, it was very difficult for me at that time to pursue my desire for dance, theater, and special acting against my parents' wishes, and to find, live, and experience my own motivations. Nevertheless, I completed various training programs in the fields of 'acting on camera,' 'stage acting,' and 'professional acting' in Iran. During this time, I participated in various theater projects. Practicing the theatrical art was challenging and even dangerous for us artists due to censorship in Iran. My involvement in theater, like dancing in my performances, was met with government repression, and I received a work ban on the pretext of breaking taboos. I, like others, was arrested multiple times.

Because of the work ban and the associated threat to my life, I left my homeland in 2011 and sought refuge in Germany. After my escape from Iran to Germany, I first got to know the new environment and soon after, the new cultural character. My desire to pursue acting and directing professionally persisted.