He is best known for his films Smell of Camphor, Scent of Jasmine (2000), A House Built on Water (2001), and A Little Kiss (2005).

After returning to Iran and doing military service, he joined the National Iranian Radio and Television.

He produced some major films, including Abbas Kiarostami's first feature, The Report (1977), Bahram Bayzai's The Crow (1977), Khosrow Haritash's Divine One (1976), Mohammad Reza Aslani's Chess of the Wind (1976) and Valerio Zurlini's The Desert of the Tartars (1977 co-production with Italy and France).

Farmanara moved to France and then to Canada in 1980, establishing a distribution company and a film festival for children and young adults in Vancouver.

On May 10, 2013, Farmanara signed up to run for the office of President of the Islamic Republic of Iran.