Kimiai started his career as an assistant director and made his debut, Come Stranger, in 1968. With his second film, Qeysar (also known as Qaiser and Gheisar) (1969), he and Dariush Mehrjui with the film The Cow, caused a historical change in Iranian film industry as the features that are considered the first films of the "Iranian New Wave". Qeysar became a great success at the box office and opened the way for young, talented filmmakers who never had a chance in the industry before.
