Mohammad Gorjestani
Born (1984-02-08) February 8, 1984
Tehran, Iran
NationalityIranian-American
Occupation(s)Director, Writer, Producer and cinematographer
Years active2007–present

Mohammad Gorjestani (born February 8, 1984) is an Iranian-American writer, director, and producer.[1][2] He is best known for Exit 12, Sister Hearts and Refuge.[3][4][5]

Life and career

Gorjestani was born in Tehran, Iran. His family fled to the United States in 1988 due to the Iran/Iraq War. He attended Cupertino High School and later attended the Vancouver Film School.[1] His thesis film, The Shade, premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2007 and was later acquired by the BBC.[6]

Gorjestani received film grants from ITVS, for his near future short film Refuge, starring Nikohl Boosheri, and screened at the Tribeca Film Festival and SXSW Film Festival.[7] He was named one of Filmmaker Magazine's 25 New Faces of Independent Film.[8] His most recent short film, Exit 12, was acquired by Fox Searchlight Pictures.[9]

Gorjestani has earned 9 Vimeo Staff Picks for his works.[2] He created “The Happy Birthday Project”, a series of short films on Police killings in America.[10] He is also a 2x recipient of the San Francisco Film Society's Kenneth Rainin Foundation (KRF) Filmmaking Grant for his feature film, currently in development. He is co-founder of Even/Odd.[11]

Filmography

  • The Shade (Sayeh) (2007) (Also writer)
  • Refuge (2013) (Also writer)
  • Happy Birthday Oscar Grant (2015)
  • MissMe: The Artful Vandal (2016)
  • Happy Birthday Philando Castile (2016)
  • Happy Birthday Mario Woods (2016)
  • The Boombox Collection: Boots Riley (2016)
  • The Boombox Collection: Zion I (2016)
  • Yassin Falafel (2017)
  • Made in Iowa (2017)
  • Lakota in America (2017)
  • Sister Hearts (2018)
  • Exit 12 (2019) (Also writer)

Awards and nominations

Year Result Award Category Work
2018 Won Tribeca Film Festival Tribeca X Award[12] Sister Hearts
2019 Won Minneapolis Saint Paul International Film Festival Audience Choice Award[13] Exit 12
Won SXSW Film Festival Grand Jury Award[14]
Won Camden International Film Festival Best Short Film[15]

References

  1. 1 2 "Mohammad Gorjestani". filmmakermagazine.com. 15 July 2013. Retrieved 2018-11-11.
  2. 1 2 "Meet the filmmaker behind Square's innovative video series". vimeo.com. 19 January 2018. Retrieved 2019-09-16.
  3. ↑ "EXIT 12". artandhealing.org. Retrieved 2019-09-16.
  4. ↑ "SHORT FILMS IN FOCUS: SISTER HEARTS". rogerebert.com. Retrieved 2019-09-16.
  5. ↑ "Mohammad Gorjestani's Short Film 'Refuge'". metroactive.com. Retrieved 2019-09-16.
  6. ↑ "PRESS RELEASE - 2007 SHORT FILM AND FAMILY SHORT FILM PROGRAMS". tribecafilm.com. Retrieved 2019-09-16.
  7. ↑ "Refuge". itvs.org. Retrieved 2019-09-16.
  8. ↑ "Filmmaker Magazine Announces the 25 New Faces of Independent Film of 2013". indiewire.com. 18 July 2013. Retrieved 2019-09-16.
  9. ↑ "Fox Searchlight Nabs 'Exit 12' Short Docu; Hidden Empire Film Group To Be Honored By Location Managers Guild International – Film Briefs". deadline.com. 22 August 2019. Retrieved 2019-09-16.
  10. ↑ "Remembering Philando Castile on His Birthday". citylab.com. Retrieved 2019-09-16.
  11. ↑ "32 UNDER 32: MOHAMMAD GORJESTANI". thesfegotist.com. Retrieved 2019-09-16.
  12. ↑ "SQUARE'S 'FOR EVERY KIND OF DREAM' WINS TRIBECA X AWARD". adage.com. 26 April 2018. Retrieved 2019-09-16.
  13. ↑ "MSPIFF38 AUDIENCE CHOICE AWARDS". mspfilm.org. Retrieved 2019-09-16.
  14. ↑ "Announcing the 2019 SXSW Film Festival Jury and Special Awards". sxsw.com. 13 March 2019. Retrieved 2019-04-23.
  15. ↑ "Camden International Film Festival closes 15th edition with awards". knox.villagesoup.com. Retrieved 2019-04-23.
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