Celebrated English actress, author and social activist Joanna Lumley is in Iran to make a local episode of her documentary series.
Lumley’s trip is part of her latest globetrotting series she is making for ITV Channel. She is covering some 12,000km of the historical Silk Road from China to Venice to make the documentary of the ancient route, IRNA reported on its Persian website.
“There are various routes you can take but I am fascinated with Central Asia and the ’stans - Turkistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan,” Lumley said. “And I would like to take the golden road to Samarkand. I quite like a bit of rufty-tufty travel. You have got to be quite up for it but I am quite a good traveler. I like a kit bag and a rucksack.”
So far, Lumley has completed her Silk Road episodes related to Japan, India and Lebanon. For the Iran episode she is collaborating with Iranian producer Farzad Pak who is a long-time member of the Association of Iranian Producers. The episode is planned to be aired in September.
While in Iran, Lumley will visit Isfahan, Kashan, Yazd and Shiraz. She intends to introduce Iranian attractions to the English audience.
Rights Activist
Lumley is an advocate and human rights activist for the UK-based human rights organization of Survival International and the UK-based group of Gurkha Justice Campaign that fights for the rights of Gurkhas, the Nepalese soldiers recruited around the world mainly as peace keeping forces in war zones.
Lumley supports charities and animal welfare groups, such as the UK-based campaigning and lobbying organization of Compassion in World Farming and the British animal rights group of Vegetarians’ International Voice for Animals.
She is also known as the “daughter of Nepal”, having undertaken significant civil rights projects. In May 2016, Lumley became a patron of Population Matters, a UK-based charity that addresses population size and its effects on environmental sustainability.
During a career in film and television that spans more than 19 years, Farzad Pak has been involved in the production of more than 150 documentaries, large budget feature films and a variety of co-productions with international filmmakers in and outside Iran.
He has produced and co-produced over a dozen films with international production companies.
