My interest in short film making involves experimenting with the themes of existential anxiety, mental health, and the human condition. I have produced three short films to date, each reflecting a different aspect of my personal journey.
For awards and screenings, see my art resume.
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A short film exploring existential anxiety and the human condition.
2020–2024, 20 minutes, color, Canada, Experimental, English and Persian text, no dialogue.
Available in DOLBY 5.1 sound upon request.
Content advisory: nudity, vilence, war, anxiety, mental health.
With Asal Andarzipour
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The film follows a girl born during the Iranian 1979 revolution, growing up amidst war and global events, leading to her breakdown and subsequent healing through self-care.
In January 2020, during a visit to Iran, I was detained and psychologically tortured by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), released on condition to spy for them. I disclosed this six months later, but the experience led to a severe mental breakdown. Turning to creating for healing, this film was born out of a recursive, COVID quarantine, filmed on a cellphone at home.
The narrative peaks with the IRGC's downing of Ukrainian flight #PS752, emphasizing that this is a story reflecting a generational experience, not just my own.
The film's use of nudity, prohibited in Iran, serves as an act of defiance and symbolizes the inherent loneliness of the individual. The film grain visually represents anxiety.
Asal Andarzipour plays two characters: initially, a mother who becomes pregnant by accident. The red room symbolizes the womb, where the unborn child is already exposed to the external anxieties of the revolution. After birth, she portrays the child growing up against the backdrop of the Iran-Iraq war and other global events, culminating in a mental breakdown after the downing of flight #PS752. The film then depicts her path to recovery.
The decision to cast a female actor, Asal Andarzipour, was influenced by my personal struggle with gender identity during the time of production. This casting choice adds another layer of depth to the film's exploration of identity and self-discovery.
The observer gazes at the water, symbolizing life, and attempts to move upstream against the flow. When he reaches the source, he finds the struggle too much to bear. Eventually he decides to relax by the water, watching it flow by, embracing the calm.
The water sound was recorded in Gheshm, Iran, while the visuals are from Abraham Lake and Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada.
2024, 17 minutes, color, minimal, ambiance, Canada and Iran, no dialogue.
With Omid Dolatkhah
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In 2020 / 2021, I suffered from severe Bipolar mania. This is a reflection on my encounter with Bipolar mania and back.
2024, 5 minutes, color, Canada, English.
Content advisory: drugs, mental health.
With Brooke Leifso
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