Alireza Golafshan was born in 1986 in Tehran, Iran. In 1998 the family emigrated to Germany. Golafshan first studied philosophy and art history in Munich; in 2008 he successfully applied to the Hochschule für Fernsehen und Film (HFF), where he made several short films. The 45-minute tragedy "Behinderte Ausländer" (2013) brought him to the attention of producer Justyna Muesch. The tragicomedy "Die Goldfische" ("The Goldfish", 2019) is about a portfolio manager (Tom Schilling) who is paralyzed by an accident. In order to save his black money from the tax authorities, he sets off to Zurich with a group of disabled people - a furious road trip takes its course. "Die Goldfische" opened in cinemas at the end of March 2019 and received very positive reviews. At the Bavarian Film Awards 2020, Golafshan received the Young Directors Award.  

As a producer, he was involved in Friederike Güssefeld's HFF graduation film "Out of Place" (2019), which won Best Documentary at the 2019 First Steps Awards.  

Between October 2020 and May 2021, filming took place in Munich and Ibiza for Golafshan's next feature film: the comedy "JGA: Jasmin. Gina. Anna." tells the story of three best friends who go through a wild party night in Ibiza. The movie was released theatrically in March 2022.