Italian filmmaker Michela Scolari has secured global rights for a docuseries on Yassmin Pucci Pahlavi, granddaughter of Iran’s last shah, and cousin to the exiled crown prince, Reza Pahlavi. Filming is underway, including scenes at the Cannes Film Festival where Yassmin reunites with her cousin Cyrus Pahlavi.
Origins in Literary Work
Based on Yassmin’s book, “Non Chiamatemi Principessa” (“Don’t Call Me Princess”), the series traces her family's complex history. The book vividly portrays the lives of her mother, Farah Arvand, and grandmother, Ashraf Pahlavi, sister to the last shah.
The project aims to expand beyond the documentary with a book and a scripted show, offering a comprehensive view across multiple formats. U.S. writer Karin Tanabe, known for “The Diplomat’s Daughter” and “The Gilded Years,” is adapting Yassmin's story into a fiction book, represented by William Morris.
Exploring Identity and Heritage
The docuseries, still unnamed, is described as a journey of identity, uncovering secrets, mysteries, and truths of the Pahlavi dynasty, one of the 20th century's powerful royal families. Yassmin, a trained actress, confronts the silence around her legacy, starting with accounts from her childhood and progressing to meetings with royal cousins in Paris, seeking access to secret archives of the once-glorious Persian Empire.
Director Scolari remarked on Yassmin’s evolution, saying, “Witnessing her professional growth as an actress has been a privilege. Her transformation into an activist and a perceptive observer is even more remarkable. She has courageously embraced her identity, becoming a powerful voice for Iranian women.”
Production Details
The series is co-produced by Scolari with Zurich-based CarmOne Prods. and American Troubadours. Producers include Brenda Emmett and Vince Emmett for American Troubadours, Angelo Boffa and Remo Muggli for CarmOne Prods., and Dan Treinish for Getty Images.
Scolari is also producing the upcoming John Travolta musical rom-com “That’s Amore!” directed by Nick Vallelonga, known for “Green Book.”
Source: https://variety.com/2026/film/global/docuseries-yassmin-pucci-pahlavi-shah-of-persia-cannes-1236750782/
