Tales from Iran - by Sahand Sahebdivani 16 +

After the Iranian Revolution, at the age of three Sahebdivani fled with his parents from Iran to the Netherlands. They were on their way to Canada, but missed their transfer in Amsterdam, ending up in the Netherlands. In his twenties Sahand, by chance got the opportunity to become storyteller at the Tropenmuseum, when another Iranian storyteller noticed his hat in the tram. He continued his parents' Iranian tradition of storytelling and music making, founding the cultural Centre, Mezrab in 2004. It started as a monthly gathering in a small teahouse, but within ten years grew into an established cultural centre with a multidisciplinary programme for five days per week.

As his cultural centre grew, so did Sahand's career as an artist. Together with various storytellers, actors and musicians he performs at theatres and festivals across the Netherlands and internationally. In 2014 he was chosen as the Netherlands' Best Storyteller of the Year. In 2017 together with storyteller Raphael Rodan he won the Amsterdam Fringe Gold Award for their play My Father Held a Gun. In 2020 Sahebdivani's cultural center won the Amsterdamprijs voor de Kunst (Amsterdam Prize for the Arts) for Best Achievements.