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 Aghdashloo
تارا آغداشلو
Born (1988-01-05) 5 January 1988 (age 36)
Tehran, Iran
NationalityIranian, Canadian, British
Occupation(s)Writer, Director, Producer, Author
Parents
Websitewww.taraaghdashloo.com

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]

Biography

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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.[2]

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. [1]

Work

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Film and television

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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[22] 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. [23][24] 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. [25][2] 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. [26]

Writing

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Her poetry has appeared in English language[27] and Persian[28] magazines, and her poetry collection, This is Not a Pomegranate, was published by Shahrvand Publications in 2011.[29] Her essays, articles and reviews have been published in The Guardian,[30] REALLIFE Magazine,[31] The New Inquiry,[32] Tank Magazine,[33] Autodidact Magazine,[34] Ibraaz,[35] Fashion Magazine,[36] ArtRabbit,[37] Ottawa Citizen, Future Fossil Flora Magazine,[38] Reorient Magazine,[39] BULLETT[40] and Capsule 98 [41] among others. Tara wrote the lyrics for King Raam's debut solo album, Songs of The Wolves.[42]

In October, 2022, Tara's Op-Ed on the protests that erupted in Iran, was published in The Financial Times.[43] In December 2022, she published another piece about the Woman, Life, Freedom movement in Iran and its impact on society.[44] In February, 2023, Harvard Business Review's Ascend series published a piece by Tara, discussing activism from the diaspora.[45]

Curation

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Tara co-directed and curated The Invisible Line (TIL) Gallery in East London for two years and exhibited around 25 shows during that time.[46][47] In 2017 she curated a retrospective of Portuguese artist Cristina Rodrigues in Castelo Branco Museum.[48] She frequently reviews art especially by Iranian and Middle Eastern artists.[49]

Filmography

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Year Title Type Role Notes
2016 Value of Contemporary Art documentary film Director, cast (as self)
2020 Chiaroscuro: Capturing My Father documentary film Writer, director, producer, cast (as self) Documentary about her father, Aydin Aghdashloo and their relationship.[50]

References

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  1. ^ "Style Talk, Meet Tara Aghdashloo". Les Belles Heures. June 1, 2017. Retrieved 2020-11-02.
  2. ^ a b "NASTY WOMAN: Tara Aghdashloo (Writer & Filmmaker)". The Cultural Curator. Retrieved 2019-07-15.
  3. ^ "Tara Aghdashloo | Sayle Screen". saylescreen.com. Retrieved 2024-08-05.
  4. ^ "Collective Power: Activists @ MozFest 2023".
  5. ^ Fassihi, Farnaz; Porter, Catherine (2020-11-02). "Famed Iranian Artist Under #MeToo Cloud Faces Art World Repercussions". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-11-02.
  6. ^ "Style Talk, Meet Tara Aghdashloo". Les Belles Heures. June 1, 2017. Retrieved 2020-11-02. my own father Aydin Aghdashloo,
  7. ^ "Channel 4 News Instagram in Iran, 2018". Channel 4 Youtube. December 2018. Retrieved 22 October 2018.
  8. ^ "Channel 4 News: Iran's Women Truckers". Vimeo.
  9. ^ "BBC World Restoration at V&A". Vimeo. December 2016. Retrieved 27 January 2020.
  10. ^ "BBC World London's Arcola Theatre". October 2019. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
  11. ^ "Value of Contemporary Art,2016". Channel 4. December 2016. Retrieved 14 March 2019.
  12. ^ "Riksdag: Democracy in Sweden, 2016". Manoto. Retrieved 26 April 2018.
  13. ^ "Ticket Series: Stockholm (Ep 4), 2015". Manoto. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  14. ^ "Small World Series: Barcelorna (Ep 7),7 2014". Manoto. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  15. ^ "Samteno – Speaking Publicly About Cancer. 2014". Manoto. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  16. ^ "Aydin The Movie, 2020". Aydin The Movie. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  17. ^ "Chiaroscuro: Capturing my Father". IMDb.
  18. ^ "Circles for Choubi,2019". Vimeo. 5 January 2019. Retrieved 27 January 2020.
  19. ^ "Henriette Von Gruenberg,2019". Vimeo. 16 December 2019. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
  20. ^ "17th British Shorts 2024: Tara Aghdashloo". The New Current. Retrieved 2024-08-05.
  21. ^ "The Ride". Film London. Retrieved 2023-05-12.
  22. ^ The Ride (Short 2023) - IMDb, retrieved 2023-05-12
  23. ^ Founder. "The Ride – MsMono". Retrieved 2024-08-05.
  24. ^ "THE RIDE Short Film (2022)". taraaghdashloo. Retrieved 2023-11-16.
  25. ^ Aghdashloo, Tara (2023-05-01), Bridge (Short), Mahshad Afshar, Lason Ash-Thomas, Charlie Atkins, retrieved 2023-11-16
  26. ^ Aghdashloo, Tara, Empty Your Pockets (Drama), Banafsheh Taherian, Kiarash Dadgar, Armin Lou, OPC, retrieved 2023-11-16
  27. ^ Aghdashloo, Tara. "Things I Have Heard". Literal Vagrant. Retrieved 5 September 2019.
  28. ^ Aghdashloo, Tara. "Poems in Pishomare". Persian Gulf Club. Retrieved 5 September 2019.
  29. ^ Taheri, Farah (2011-06-30). "این یک انار نیست". Shahrvand. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  30. ^ Aghdashloo, Tara (14 February 2014). "Hadi Hazavei: 'Art doesn't have a border'". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  31. ^ Aghdashloo, Tara (20 April 2017). "New Skin". Real Life Magazine. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  32. ^ Aghdashloo, Tara (17 December 2017). "The Floral Is the Political". The New Inquiry. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  33. ^ Aghdashloo, Tara (2017). "A dark contrast". Tank (73). Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  34. ^ "Contributors". Autodidact Magazine. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  35. ^ Aghdashloo, Tara (27 February 2014). "Notes on Women in Iranian Art". Ibraaz (6). Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  36. ^ Aghdashloo, Tara (18 March 2013). "Exclusive: Vivienne Westwood lets us into her London studio to talk Greenpeace and saving the arctic". Fashion. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  37. ^ Aghdashloo, Tara (28 February 2017). "Baddest Babes of Iran". ArtRabbit. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  38. ^ Aghdashloo, Tara (4 September 2017). "'Roya's Delight: A Short Story'". Future Fossil Flora Magazine. Retrieved 5 September 2019.
  39. ^ Aghdashloo, Tara (22 October 2018). "East Meets West". Reorient Magazine. Retrieved 5 September 2019.
  40. ^ Aghdashloo, Tara (4 June 2013). "Introducing Helen Chadwicks Provocative Art to a New Generation/". BULLETT. Retrieved 5 September 2019.
  41. ^ Aghdashloo, Tara (28 October 2020). "The day we moved: Director Tara Aghdashloo reflects on her childhood home in Tehran". Capsule 98 Magazine. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
  42. ^ "King Raam". Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  43. ^ Aghdashloo, Tara (2022-10-14). "Iran's women have been fighting this fight for a long time". Financial Times. Retrieved 2023-05-22.
  44. ^ "Sparks of unextinguished bravery amidst the darkness in Iran". thelead.uk. Retrieved 2023-05-22.
  45. ^ Aghdashloo, Tara (2023-02-21). "How to Support Your Iranian Colleagues". Harvard Business Review. ISSN 0017-8012. Retrieved 2023-05-22.
  46. ^ Zarandi, Oliver (8 September 2014). "Exhibition review: Tell Me Again at Invisible Line gallery". East End Review. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  47. ^ "Homa Arkani exhibition". YouTube. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  48. ^ Burrell, Drucilla. "Cristina Rodrigues Retrospective". ArtRabbit. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  49. ^ Aghdashloo, Tara (30 July 2013). "Presenting the Nation's Art". Majalla. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  50. ^ "Chiaroscuro: Capturing My Father". cinando.com. Retrieved 2020-11-03.
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