My Statement
My journey into art began at age 15 within a theater acting institute, where an immersion in dramatic literature inspired me to move beyond performance and test my ability to create. This curiosity led to the publication of my short story collection, Hope: Death or Life?, at age 16. Simultaneously, I viewed cinema as a new territory for exploration; after acting in three short films, I directed my first narrative short, Wink, at 17. This project confirmed that my future lay not in front of the camera, but behind it—in writing and directing.
To formalize this self-taught path, I secured a top rank (86th out of 50,000 applicants) to enter the University of Art in Tehran. The university became my intellectual laboratory. Courses in Mythology, Aesthetics, and the Sociology of Art did not teach me how to hold a camera, but they taught me how to see. They defined my position as an auteur. To bridge the gap between this theoretical knowledge and practical craft, I looked outside the classroom.
In my third semester, I joined Soheila Golestani’s VR filmmaking workshop. What began as a simple class assignment evolved into The Woman in the Mirror, a massive two-year undertaking. This project was a crucible for my technical growth, forcing me to master complex VFX, lighting, and sound design to serve a new form of visual storytelling.
While developing my artistic voice in VR, I simultaneously honed my professional discipline through commercial work. As a Concept Developer and Director for promotional campaigns, I learned to communicate with mass audiences. This culminated in Persona, a YouTube reality game show consisting of six 40-minute episodes. Leading this project was a masterclass in the industrial realities of filmmaking—managing large budgets, leading crews, adhering to strict deadlines, and maintaining accountability to investors.
I am now ready to merge these two sides of my identity: the storyteller who began with literature, and the producer who has mastered the workflow. I seek to pursue graduate studies to translate my artistic concerns—specifically existential concepts and the dilemmas of modern life—into visceral, visual narratives.