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Sara Zandieh
Iranian American filmmaker From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Sara Zandieh is an American film director and screenwriter[1] of Iranian descent[2]. She holds an M.F.A. in film directing from Columbia University’s School of the Arts[3] and is a recipient of a Fulbright[4] grant for filmmaking. Zandieh’s 2010 short film The Pool Party won second place at the Tribeca Film Festival[5][6][7] and she has since expanded into feature films, directing works such as A Simple Wedding, The Other Zoey, and Doin’ It[3]. Additionally, in television Zandieh has directed episodes for network and streaming series[2].
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Works & Career
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Short Films & Early Projects
In 2009, Sara Zandieh entered a story called The Pool Party in the Narrative Magazine 30 Below contest for writers between the ages of 18 and 30.[8] She was among the top ten N30B finalists and a small prize for her effort.[8]
In 2010, Zandieh directed The Pool Party. It is a 14-minute short film that was shot in Tehran just before the 2009-2010 Iranian election crisis.[9] It documents the story of a male servant, who must fully repair a pool while acting as a surrogate father to the master's daughter. Zandieh combined social realism with allegory to illustrate the servant's struggle.[1]
In 2012, she wrote and directed Reza Hassani Goes to the Mall[10], starring Maz Jobrani, premiered at Telluride Film Festival and won the Focus Features Best Film Award at Columbia University’s festival[11].
Feature Films
In 2018, Zandieh co-wrote and directed her debut feature, A Simple Wedding, an Iranian-American romantic comedy starring Tara Grammy, Rita Wilson, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Maz Jobrani, and others. It premiered at the LA Film Festival and later secured a theatrical release via Blue Fox Entertainment[2].
In 2023, she directed The Other Zoey, a romantic comedy film starring Drew Starkey, Josephine Langford, Andie MacDowell, and Heather Graham for Amazon Prime[12].
In 2024, Zandieh co-wrote and directed Doin' It, a comedy starring Lilly Singh as a 30-year-old virgin who becomes a high school sex education teacher. The film premiered at SXSW in 2024 and is set for wide theatrical distribution[13].
Television
In 2021 and 2022, Zandieh directed two episodes Good Girls and in 2025, she directed an episode of Grosse Pointe Garden Society[14]. She was selected through Universal’s Female Forward director program[15].
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2010 Tribeca Film Festival
Zandieh's film was one of 47 short films screened in Lower Manhattan theaters.[16] Like Tal Rosner, Zandieh is a returning director.[16] Amongst other directors premiering films, she competed against Kirsten Dunst.[16] Student kudos went to the winning short, Some Boys Don't Leave, "with special mention going to Sara Zandieh's The Pool Party."[7]
On April 29, 2010, The Pool Party was shown at the Columbia University School of the Arts' 23rd Annual Film Festival.[17]
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Awards
Zandieh won a 2009-2010 grant from the Fulbright Program[4], one of the most widely recognized international exchange programs in the world.[18] She was one of 84 students from the United States selected by the United States Department of State for placements abroad, and was assigned to Turkey as a filmmaking student.[4]
Filmography
- Handsome Harry (2009)[19]
- The Pool Party (2010)[20]
- A Simple Wedding (2019)
- The Other Zoey (2023) [21]
- Doin' It (2024)[22]
References
External links
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