Pourahmad was born in 1949 in Nadjaf Abad in Iran. He began his career in 1973 as a film critic and three years later he began working as screenwriter and director of TV series. He made his feature film debut with Tatooreh (1983). Most of his films deal with problems of children and young adults. He published an autobiography Unfinished Childhood. He directed these feature films: Swallow My Tree (1984), Gavyar (1987), The Harbour (Langar-Gah, 1989), The Silent Hunt (Shekare kamoosh, 1990), Next Morning (Sobh-e rooz-e ba'd, 1992), Bread and Poetry (Nan o She'r, 1994), For The Sake of Haniyeh (Be khatere Hanie, 1995), Strange Sisters (Khaharan-e gharib, 1996), The Longest Night (Shab-e Yalda, 2001), Edelweiss (Gol-e yakh, 2005) and Tower’s Peak (Nok-e borj, 2005). His last film is Night Bus (Autobus-e Shahbaneh, 2007).