| Tara Aghdashloo | |
| Native Name: | تارا آغداشلو |
| Birth Date: | 1988 1, df=y |
| Birth Place: | Tehran, Iran |
| Occupation: | Writer, Director, Producer, Author |
| Nationality: | Iranian, Canadian, British |
| Mother: | Firouzeh "Fay" Athari |
| Father: | Aydin Aghdashloo[1] |
Tara Aghdashloo (Persian: تارا آغداشلو) is an Iranian-born writer, director, producer and curator. She is a published author of her poetry collection, and has worked as a print and broadcast journalist in Persian and English-language media, before transitioning to films.[2] Tara is represented by Sayle Screen Talent Agency. [3]
Tara 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.[4]
Tara Aghdashloo was born 5 January 1988 in Tehran, to architect Firouzeh "Fay" Athari and painter Aydin Aghdashloo.[5] [6] When she was in high school her family moved to Toronto, Canada.
Tara completed her BA of journalism at Ryerson 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. https://taraaghdashloo.com/about/
Tara's journalism and Documentaries have appeard on Channel 4 News,[7] [8] and BBC World.[9] [10] She wrote, directed and produced Value of Contemporary Art,[11] Riksdag,[12] Ticket documentary-series,[13] and the seven-part docuseries City Map,[14] 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.[15] She independently produced and directed documentaries[16] [17] and went onto direct music videos [18] and commercials. [19]
Tara's foray into narrative filmmaking started with her participation at Mohsen Makhmalbaf's filmmaking workshop, who remains her mentor.[20] Since then, she wrote and directed her first narrative short The Ride [21] which premiered at Cinequest Film Festival in California The film 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. [22] [23] Her second narrative short film Bridge, was commissioned by BBC based on a spoken-word poem by Gemma Barnett, premiered at Norwich Film Festival in 2023. It premiered at BIFA and BAFTA Qualifying Norwich Film Festival. https://taraaghdashloo.com/about/ Her third narrative short, Empty Your Pockets, is her first Persian language film and was produced by OPC Productions and Intermission Films, with its world premiere at BlackStar Festival in Philadelphia.
Her poetry has appeared in English language[24] and Persian[25] magazines, and her poetry collection, This is Not a Pomegranate, was published by Shahrvand Publications in 2011.[26] Her essays, articles and reviews have been published in The Guardian,[27] REALLIFE Magazine,[28] The New Inquiry,[29] Tank Magazine,[30] Autodidact Magazine,[31] Ibraaz,[32] Fashion Magazine,[33] ArtRabbit,[34] Ottawa Citizen, Future Fossil Flora Magazine,[35] Reorient Magazine,[36] BULLETT[37] and Capsule 98 [38] among others. Tara wrote the lyrics for King Raam's debut solo album, Songs of The Wolves.[39]
In October, 2022, Tara's Op-Ed on the protests that erupted in Iran, was published in The Financial Times.[40] In December 2022, she published another piece about the Woman, Life, Freedom movement in Iran and its impact on society.[41] In February, 2023, Harvard Business Review's Ascend series published a piece by Tara, discussing activism from the diaspora.[42]
Tara co-directed and curated The Invisible Line (TIL) Gallery in East London for two years and exhibited around 25 shows during that time.[43] [44] In 2017 she curated a retrospective of Portuguese artist Cristina Rodrigues in Castelo Branco Museum.[45] She frequently reviews art especially by Iranian and Middle Eastern artists.[46]
| Year | Title | Type | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Empty Your Pockets | Short film | Writer & director | 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). | |
| 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.[47] | |
| 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. |