By: Barry Weintraub
Entertainment Daily, June 2000

Hossein Farmani was born in Tehran, Iran, the son of a middle class iron
worker in a family of three brothers and three sisters.

Growing up primarily in the city of Shiraz, Hossein began demonstrating his
organizational skills at the age of 9, when after developing an interest in
acting...he founded the Black Cat musical theater group which grew to tour
cities across Iran.

Upon graduating high school, Hossein left his native country for the United
States, where he planned to study Cinematography. But once here, Hossein
developed a a new focus, discovering a passion for photography.
Determined to learn all he could about the field, Hossein obtained his degree
in photography from Golden west Collage and was recruited to teach
at Golden West College in Huntington Beach, California. Hossein's professional photography experience led him into publishing and just as he did when he was younger, Hossein established a new forum for his art, founding the award winning VUE, the first Los Angeles based fashion magazine.

After the success of Vue, Hossein developed yet another new venture. This
time, he chose to combine his passion for photography with his experience in
publishing. FotoFolio was the result of that effort, born to promote the
work of photographers across the country. FotoFolio too, won numerous
awards of it's own and is now permanent part of The Library of
Congress collection.

After little more than a decade in America, Hossein Farmani was already a
living billboard for the American dream. In ventures of his own choosing,
Hossein proved time after time that a good idea and hard work can result in
great satisfaction and accomplishment.

The success of VUE and FotoFolio served to immerse Hossein in the Arts
community, where over time he found himself increasingly surrounded by
artists dying of AIDS. It was time for Hossein to start organizing
people again. This time the cause was AIDS research and the vehicle would be
the Focus On AIDS (FOA) Foundation, a volunteer-based non-profit organization whose sole purpose is to auction photography, donating 100% of its proceeds to AIDS research, care and education. To date, FOA has raised over $2 million. Through FOA, Hossein has established a venue from which the world's top photographers donate their prized works to raise funds that can save lives. Contributing artists include: Herb Ritts, Greg Gorman, Annie Leibowitz, Richard Avedon, Bruce Davidson, Horace Bristol, David Bailey, Bruce Weber, and William Claxton.

Hossein's familiarity with the arts world has also led him to a co-chairmanship with the Hollywood Film Festival (HFF). HFF was created to help bridge the gap between the Hollywood establishment and the rest of the creative world. The annual HFF, featuring conference panels, film screenings, events and world premiers, has grown to become a staple of the Los Angeles entertainment industry. Recent participants include: Warren Beatty, Billy Crystal, Benicio Del Toro, Danny DeVito, Cameron Diaz, Leonardo DiCaprio, Harrison Ford, Matthew McConaughey, Mike Myers, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Steven Spielberg, Jodie Foster Jeffrey Katzenberg, and Martin Scorsese.

In the aftermath of the September 11 tragedy Hossein made a decision to help while most people were still in a state of shock. He immediately set out to developing "Art for New York." Once again, Hossein used his contacts to convince artists from all over America to donate their works to raise nearly $100,000. And again, one hundred percent of all proceeds went to help the children of New York cope with the attacks on their city.

When Hossein isn't launching a magazine or creating a new charity, he actually finds some time to run his business: as president of Internet Service Provider, aNet Communications; a digital pre-press studio, Fontographics; and FYIdesign, a full service advertising agency. Despite the demands of running three business while organizing charitable events in his spare time, Hossein just can't resist a new challenge. Hence, Hossein has recently helped launch yet another new venture . He describes this one as 'every movie lover's dream.' CineSpace, is Hollywood's, newest and only upscale restaurant, bar and screening room... all under one roof. In a town where everyone likes a good movie with a great meal, CineSpace is destined to be another success.

Hossein also owns one of the largest private collections of photography in the United States. His Marilyn Monroe collection has been a part of a traveling show that has toured the world.

To speak with Hossein Farmani, you can reachl him at:
farmani@anet.net
310.659.0122

International Photography Awards http://photoawards.com
Focus on AIDS Foundation http://focusonaids.com
Art for New York http://www.artforny.org/
Hollywood Film Festival http://hollywoodfilmfestival.com
ANetcommunications http://anet.net
Fontographics NK http://fonto.com
FYIdesign (Farmani Yamanochy, Inc.) http://fyidesign.com
CineSpace http://cine-space.com
Farmani’s site http://farmani.com