Omid Iranikhah
Directing
Biography
Iranian-American writer/director and actor Omid Iranikhah focuses on stories dealing with the Iranian and Iranian Diaspora experience. His 2021 narrative short film "Don't Be a Stranger," a meditative drama about an Iranian couple's struggle to accept their drug addict son back into their life, played at a number of film festivals and won the Jury Award for Best Short Film at Accord CineFest. His accolades also include winning the Michael Collyer Fellowship in Screenwriting and placing as a semifinalist in the Academy Nicholl Fellowships for his Iran-set folk horror screenplay.
Known For
Still proudly flaunting its progressive values, a young independent nation prepares to celebrate an all-purpose holiday called The Sovereign. Despite the declared moral superiority, the little nation is rife with inequality, apathy and a strengthening authoritarian framework. For the 24-hour holiday, citizens are encouraged to share their blessings with the less fortunate.
The Sovereign
In a remote desert in dystopian America, a teenage girl is stoned to death by her father and brothers, unleashing a vengeful supernatural force that turns their act of violence into their ultimate reckoning.
The Stoning of a Temptress
A shopping mall mannequin comes to life as a ballerina.
Mannequin's Waltz
Working surveillance for the oppressive regime in Iran, a father’s loyalty is tested when his son needs help escaping regime agents.
A Passage of Silence
A dementia-stricken war veteran mistakes his put-upon son for a lover from his past, forcing both men to confront their complicated relationship.
Charlie
An Iranian-American man recounts his complicated relationship with the native language he forgot.
Farsi with Maman
A tribute to the late filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami. Shot on iPhone 8.
Dear Abbas...
An Iranian-American twentysomething and his father meet for coffee, only to find themselves clashing over their differing worldviews.
Coffee With Baba
College Life.
Omid’s 21st Birthday Extravaganza!!
An Iranian couple is paid an unexpected visit by their estranged, drug-addict son one morning, only to find an old pattern repeating itself.
Don't Be a Stranger
When his estranged ex-girlfriend Mandy returns from volunteering as a nurse in Gaza, Amin is forced to confront his own beliefs as he struggles to accept her conversion to Islam.
Coffee with Mandy
A recently divorced man breaks into his ex-husband's house to steal the Barbra Streisand album he gave him as an anniversary gift, only to discover that there are unresolved issues at the heart of their relationship.