Anahita Ghazvinizadeh
Writing
Biography
Anahita Ghazvinizadeh (b1989, Tehran, Iran) got her BFA in cinema from Tehran University of Art and her MFA in studio arts from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Anahita has studied with Abbas Kiarostami and is influenced by his cinematic style. Since 2011 she started to work on a trilogy of short films with children as main characters. When the Kid was a Kid (2011, Iran) and Needle (2013, US) are the first two finished pieces. Needle was premiered in Cannes Film Festival, Cinefondation selection and won the Premier Prix. Anahita was selected as one of the 25 New Faces of Independent Cinema in 2013 by the Filmmaker Magazine. She is also the co-writer of the acclaimed feature film, Mourning (2011).
Known For
J is in their early teens and lives in the countryside. J has been diagnosed with Gender Identity Disorder, goes by the selected pronoun “they”, and takes hormone blockers to suspend puberty. While J’s parents are away, their older sister and her Iranian boyfriend are assigned the duties of house-sitting and looking after J.
They
A violent quarrel breaks out between a couple at midnight. Being at a relative's house in the north of Iran, they depart for Tehran in the middle of the night, but they do not bring along their son. Something terrible happens on their way...
Mourning
The Baron in the Trees is a short narrative film about a pair of identical twins: one of them is playing a role in a children’s theater and the other one is a spectator of theshow. The identical appearances and different behaviors create a motif for the film. Along with Anahita’s previous short films When the Kid was a Kid and Needle, The Baron in the Trees will be the last piece to a trilogy of short films with young protagonists. Growth, gender-identity and family dynamics are the main themes of this trio.
Baron In The Trees
Young Lilly is going to get her ears pierced. A quarrel between her parents overwhelms the situation and directs it differently.
Needle
After moving from Iran to the US, Leila spends a day at the suburban house of her uncle Reza who she last met 13 years ago as a young girl. Reza, his daughter and his colleagues get together to welcome Leila.
What Remains
Taha, a ten years old, is involved in a play in which children imitate their parents' roles. Living with his divorced mother, Taha understands new things about his mom by playing her role.
When The Kid Was A Kid
My Life is Wind is the story of Myriam’s first weeks as a refugee in an alien land told in the form of an intimate letter.
My Life is Wind (a letter)
Break the Silence is an international film project with the overall objective to combat sexual abuse of children at a global level.