Mohammad Gorjestani

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]

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

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

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
2019 Won SXSW Film Festival Grand Jury Award[14] Exit 12
2019 Won Camden International Film Festival Best Short Film[15] Exit 12

References
  1. "Mohammad Gorjestani". filmmakermagazine.com. 15 July 2013. Retrieved 2018-11-11.
  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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