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Tara Aghdashloo Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tara_Aghdashloo

Tara Aghdashloo
تارا آغداشلو
Born
Tehran, Iran
NationalityIranian, Canadian, British
Occupation(s)Writer, Director, Producer, Author
Parents
Websitewww.taraaghdashloo.com

Tara Aghdashloo (Persian: تارا آغداشلو) is an Iranian-born writer, award-winning director, producer and multidisciplinary artist and curator. She is a published author of her poetry collection, and has worked as an essayist, and print and broadcast journalist in Persian and English-language media, before transitioning to filmmaking.[2] Tara is represented by Sayle Screen Talent Agency.[3]

Tara is a member of Directors UK, Cinesisters, and Female Film Club. She's selected on the cohort of 8 on the Women in Directors Chair Canada, and has participated in script labs and talent labs such as Cine Qua Non and RIFF (Reykjavík International Film Festival).[4][5] She is an intersectional feminist has been an advocate for women's rights issues, and has attended panels on issues relating to Iran and the Middle East, as well as discussions on women and diversity in filmmaking.[6]

Tara's advocacy and activism has made her a target for the Iranian authorities over the years.[7][8]

Biography

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Tara Aghdashloo was born in Tehran, to architect Firouzeh "Fay" Athari and painter Aydin Aghdashloo.[9][10] When she was in high school her family moved to Toronto, Canada.[2]

Tara completed her BA of journalism at Toronto Metropolitan University with a focus on print journalism and political science, and her MA from London University's School of Oriental and African Studies in Global Media and Postnational Communication. [1]

Work

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Film and television

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Tara's foray into narrative filmmaking started with her participation at Mohsen Makhmalbaf's filmmaking workshop, who remains as her mentor.[11] Since then, she wrote and directed three short films which have screened at OSCAR, BAFTA, BIFA, and CSA qualifying festivals. Her first narrative short The Ride [12] which premiered at Cinequest Film Festival in California[13] and was funded by BFI Network, Canada Council of the Arts, and Toronto Arts Council. The Ride competed in numerous festivals and won Best Short film at Nostalgia Film Festival.[14][15] Her second narrative short film Bridge, was commissioned by BBC based on a spoken-word poem by Gemma Barnett, premiered at Norwich Film Festival, and has been nominated for 17 awards, winning 7, and competed at various international festivals.[3] Her third narrative short, Empty Your Pockets, is her first Persian language film and was produced by OPC Productions and Intermission Films. It premiered at BAFTA and Oscar Qualifying BlackStar Festival in Philadelphia, with nominations at festivals globally, winning awards for Outstanding Direction and Outstanding Lead Actor at ReelWorld Festival, and Best Foreign Short Film at Unrestricted View Festival.[16]

Tara's journalism and documentaries have appeared on Channel 4 News,[17][18] and BBC World.[19][20] She wrote, directed and produced Value of Contemporary Art,[21] Riksdag,[22] Ticket documentary-series,[23] and the seven-part docuseries City Map,[24] among others. She was a founding co-host and producer on the first Persian-speaking all-woman talk show, Samte No on Manoto TV channel.[25] She independently produced and directed documentaries[26][27] and went onto direct music videos [28] and commercials.[29]

Writing

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Her poetry has appeared in English language[30] and Persian[31] magazines, and her poetry collection, This is Not a Pomegranate, was published by Shahrvand Publications in 2011.[32] Her essays, articles and reviews have been published in The Guardian,[33] REALLIFE Magazine,[34] The New Inquiry,[35] Tank Magazine,[36] Autodidact Magazine,[37] Ibraaz,[38] Fashion Magazine,[39] ArtRabbit,[40] Ottawa Citizen, Future Fossil Flora Magazine,[41] Reorient Magazine,[42] BULLETT[43] and Capsule 98[44] among others. Tara wrote the lyrics for King Raam's debut solo album, Songs of The Wolves.[45]

In October, 2022, Tara's Op-Ed on the protests that erupted in Iran, was published in The Financial Times.[46] In December 2022, she published another piece about the Woman, Life, Freedom movement in Iran and its impact on society.[47] In February, 2023, Harvard Business Review's Ascend series published a piece by Tara, discussing activism from the diaspora.[48]

Curation & Art

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Tara co-directed and curated The Invisible Line (TIL) Gallery in East London for two years and exhibited around 25 shows during that time.[49][50] In 2017 she curated a retrospective of Portuguese artist Cristina Rodrigues in Castelo Branco Museum.[51] She frequently reviews art especially by Iranian and Middle Eastern artists.[52]

Filmography

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Year Title Type Role Notes
2024 Empty Your Pockets Short film Writer & director Festivals:  BlackStar Film Festival, Cinequest Film Festival, Unrestricted View (winner: Best Foreign Short Film), HollyShorts Film Festival, deadCenter Film Festival, ReelWorld Film Festival (winner: Outstanding Short Film Direction, Outstanding Short Lead Actor), St John’s International Women’s Film Festival, Beeston Film Festival (nom: Best Direction), Nostalgia Film Festival, FascinAsian Film Festival, Persian Film Festival Australia, Mansfield Town Film Festival, Festival International du Film de Vebron, Southport Film Festival, Quarantine International Film Festival.

Awards: Best Foreign Short Film (Unrestricted View) Outstanding Short Film Direction, Outstanding Short Lead Actor (ReelWorld Film Festival) Premiered at the Oscar and BAFTA Qualifying BlackStar Film Festival in August of 2024.

2023 Bridge Short film Director Short film adaptation of an award winning poem by Gemma Barnett who also stars in it. Nominated for Best UK Short (Unrestricted Festival), Best Drama (Southport Festival), Best Cinematography (Mansfield Festival), and Best Original Score (Mansfield Festival).

Festivals (17 nominations): Norwich Film Festival,  Catania Film Festival, This is England Film Festival, Afrodite Shorts Film Festival, Alessandria Film Festival, Leiden International Film Festival, Contemporanea Film Festival, Job Film Festival, KIN Festival, Norwich Film Festival, TweetFest Film Festival, Lichtspielklub Short Film Festival, British Shorts, Unrestricted View Film Festival, Southport Film Festival, Mansfield Town Film Festival, MoliseCinema International Film Festival, Bardi Film Festival, I Will Tell International Film Festival, HB Film Festival, North East Film Festival, Love Your Shorts Film Festival, Romford Film Festival Awards: Best European Short Film (Catania Film Festival), Best Director and Best Actress (Alessandria Film Festival), Best International Director and Best International Short film (Contemporanea Festival), Best Narrative Short and Best Actress (I Will Tell Festival)

2022 The Ride Short film Writer & director Debut short film premiered at the Oscar Qualifying Cinequest Festival. Supported by Canada Council of the Arts, BFI Network, and Toronto Arts Council.
2020 Eternal Entanglement Experimental film Director, writer, editor Winner for  Best Director at Roma Short Film Festival, and Best Experimental film at the Japan International Film Festival.
2020 Chiaroscuro: Capturing My Father Documentary film Writer, director, producer, cast (as self) Documentary about her father, Aydin Aghdashloo and their relationship.[53]
2016 Value of Contemporary Art Documentary film Director, cast (as self)
2016 Welcome to My Life Documentary Writer, director, producer
2016 Riksdag (Daastane Chand Irani) TV Documentary Writer, director, producer, presenter An in-depth look at the parliamentary democracy in Sweden.
2015 Youth in Canada Documentary Writer, producer, presenter Examining how Canada has become one of the leading places for the success and growth of its young population.
2015 Ticket (Bilit) TV Mini Series Writer, producer, presenter Mini docu-series on the life of Iranian immigrants in four different countries around the world.
2013 - 2014 City Map (Naghshe-Shahr) Docu-series Writer, producer, presenter Series on contemporary art and culture in Europe.
2013-2014 Samte-No Talk Show Creative producer, presenter One of the founding producers on the controversial all-women talk show discussing current affairs and women's issues for a Persian language audience. 

References

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  1. ^ "Style Talk, Meet Tara Aghdashloo". Les Belles Heures. June 1, 2017. Retrieved 2020-11-02.
  2. ^ a b "NASTY WOMAN: Tara Aghdashloo (Writer & Filmmaker)". The Cultural Curator. Retrieved 2019-07-15.
  3. ^ a b "Tara Aghdashloo | Sayle Screen". saylescreen.com. Retrieved 2024-08-05.
  4. ^ Nicholas Sokic (March 6, 2025). "Women In the Director's Chair sets latest CAM cohort". Retrieved 2025-05-12.
  5. ^ "Cine Qua Non Lab — Tara Aghdashloo (Iran/Canada/United Kingdom)". Cine Qua Non Lab. 2024-07-22. Retrieved 2025-05-12.
  6. ^ "Collective Power: Activists @ MozFest 2023".
  7. ^ "17th British Shorts 2024: Tara Aghdashloo". The New Current. Retrieved 2025-06-27.
  8. ^ "ABOUT". aydinthemovie. Retrieved 2025-06-27.
  9. ^ Fassihi, Farnaz; Porter, Catherine (2020-11-02). "Famed Iranian Artist Under #MeToo Cloud Faces Art World Repercussions". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-11-02.
  10. ^ "Style Talk, Meet Tara Aghdashloo". Les Belles Heures. June 1, 2017. Retrieved 2020-11-02. my own father Aydin Aghdashloo,
  11. ^ "17th British Shorts 2024: Tara Aghdashloo". The New Current. Retrieved 2024-08-05.
  12. ^ "The Ride". Film London. Retrieved 2023-05-12.
  13. ^ The Ride (Short 2023) - IMDb, retrieved 2023-05-12
  14. ^ Founder. "The Ride – MsMono". Retrieved 2024-08-05.
  15. ^ "THE RIDE Short Film (2022)". taraaghdashloo. Retrieved 2023-11-16.
  16. ^ Aghdashloo, Tara, Empty Your Pockets (Drama), Banafsheh Taherian, Kiarash Dadgar, Armin Lou, OPC, retrieved 2023-11-16
  17. ^ "Channel 4 News Instagram in Iran, 2018". Channel 4 Youtube. December 2018. Retrieved 22 October 2018.
  18. ^ "Channel 4 News: Iran's Women Truckers". Vimeo.
  19. ^ "BBC World Restoration at V&A". Vimeo. December 2016. Retrieved 27 January 2020.
  20. ^ "BBC World London's Arcola Theatre". October 2019. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
  21. ^ "Value of Contemporary Art,2016". Channel 4. December 2016. Retrieved 14 March 2019.
  22. ^ "Riksdag: Democracy in Sweden, 2016". Manoto. Retrieved 26 April 2018.
  23. ^ "Ticket Series: Stockholm (Ep 4), 2015". Manoto. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  24. ^ "Small World Series: Barcelorna (Ep 7),7 2014". Manoto. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  25. ^ "Samteno – Speaking Publicly About Cancer. 2014". Manoto. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  26. ^ "Aydin The Movie, 2020". Aydin The Movie. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  27. ^ "Chiaroscuro: Capturing my Father". IMDb.
  28. ^ "Circles for Choubi,2019". Vimeo. 5 January 2019. Retrieved 27 January 2020.
  29. ^ "Henriette Von Gruenberg,2019". Vimeo. 16 December 2019. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
  30. ^ Aghdashloo, Tara. "Things I Have Heard". Literal Vagrant. Retrieved 5 September 2019.
  31. ^ Aghdashloo, Tara. "Poems in Pishomare". Persian Gulf Club. Retrieved 5 September 2019.
  32. ^ Taheri, Farah (2011-06-30). "این یک انار نیست". Shahrvand. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  33. ^ Aghdashloo, Tara (14 February 2014). "Hadi Hazavei: 'Art doesn't have a border'". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  34. ^ Aghdashloo, Tara (20 April 2017). "New Skin". Real Life Magazine. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  35. ^ Aghdashloo, Tara (17 December 2017). "The Floral Is the Political". The New Inquiry. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  36. ^ Aghdashloo, Tara (2017). "A dark contrast". Tank (73). Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  37. ^ "Contributors". Autodidact Magazine. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  38. ^ Aghdashloo, Tara (27 February 2014). "Notes on Women in Iranian Art". Ibraaz (6). Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  39. ^ Aghdashloo, Tara (18 March 2013). "Exclusive: Vivienne Westwood lets us into her London studio to talk Greenpeace and saving the arctic". Fashion. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  40. ^ Aghdashloo, Tara (28 February 2017). "Baddest Babes of Iran". ArtRabbit. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  41. ^ Aghdashloo, Tara (4 September 2017). "'Roya's Delight: A Short Story'". Future Fossil Flora Magazine. Retrieved 5 September 2019.
  42. ^ Aghdashloo, Tara (22 October 2018). "East Meets West". Reorient Magazine. Retrieved 5 September 2019.
  43. ^ Aghdashloo, Tara (4 June 2013). "Introducing Helen Chadwicks Provocative Art to a New Generation/". BULLETT. Retrieved 5 September 2019.
  44. ^ Aghdashloo, Tara (28 October 2020). "The day we moved: Director Tara Aghdashloo reflects on her childhood home in Tehran". Capsule 98 Magazine. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
  45. ^ "King Raam". Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  46. ^ Aghdashloo, Tara (2022-10-14). "Iran's women have been fighting this fight for a long time". Financial Times. Retrieved 2023-05-22.
  47. ^ "Sparks of unextinguished bravery amidst the darkness in Iran". thelead.uk. Retrieved 2023-05-22.
  48. ^ Aghdashloo, Tara (2023-02-21). "How to Support Your Iranian Colleagues". Harvard Business Review. ISSN 0017-8012. Retrieved 2023-05-22.
  49. ^ Zarandi, Oliver (8 September 2014). "Exhibition review: Tell Me Again at Invisible Line gallery". East End Review. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  50. ^ "Homa Arkani exhibition". YouTube. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  51. ^ Burrell, Drucilla. "Cristina Rodrigues Retrospective". ArtRabbit. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  52. ^ Aghdashloo, Tara (30 July 2013). "Presenting the Nation's Art". Majalla. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  53. ^ "Chiaroscuro: Capturing My Father". cinando.com. Retrieved 2020-11-03.
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