Matt Eskandari is an Iranian-born American film

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''Di ...

and

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

. His films include ''Victim'', ''The Gauntlet'', and ''

12 Feet Deep ''12 Feet Deep'' (originally titled ''The Deep End'') is a 2017 American psychological horror- thriller film written and directed by Matt Eskandari. It stars Alexandra Park and Nora-Jane Noone as sisters who find themselves trapped inside a public ...

''. He was also a contestant on the

Fox Studios 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

and

Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Spie ...

filmmaker competition ''

On the Lot ''On the Lot'' is a single season reality show and online competition for filmmaking, produced by Steven Spielberg, Mark Burnett and David Goffin. The show, which aired on Fox, featured filmmakers competing in weekly elimination competitions, wit ...

''.

Career

Matt Eskandari attended film school at the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

. His thesis film, "The Taking," won the award for Best Student Film at

Screamfest Screamfest Horror Film Festival is a horror film festival founded by film producers Rachel Belofsky and Ross Martin in August 2001. It runs over ten days during the month of October and is hosted at the TCL Chinese 6 Theatres in Los Angeles, Ca ...

. Following film school, Eskandari was selected as a contestant for the

filmmaker competition ''

On The Lot ''On the Lot'' is a single season reality show and online competition for filmmaking, produced by Steven Spielberg, Mark Burnett and David Goffin. The show, which aired on Fox, featured filmmakers competing in weekly elimination competitions, wit ...

''. He would go on to make his feature debut a year later with the independent film ''Victim'' released by

IFC Films IFC Films is an American film production and distribution company based in New York. It is an offshoot of IFC owned by AMC Networks. It distributes mainly independent films under its own name, select foreign films and documentaries under its S ...

, starring Stacey Haiduk, and premiered at the

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...

. The film received a theatrical release, and was distributed on IFC Midnight's Pay-per-view channel. In 2013 Eskandari directed and produced his film titled ''The Gauntlet'' which starred

Bai Ling Bai Ling (, born October 10, 1966) is a Chinese-American actress known for her work in the films ''The Crow'', ''Nixon'', ''Red Corner'', '' Crank: High Voltage'', ''Dumplings'', ''Wild Wild West'', ''Anna and the King'', ''Southland Tales'', and ...

, and

Dustin Nguyen Dustin may refer to: Places in the United States * Dustin, Nebraska * Dustin Township, Holt County, Nebraska * Dustin, Oklahoma Other uses * Dustin (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or surname * Dustin ...

. It debuted that October at the Screamfest film festival. Filmed in Beijing, China, the movie "follows five strangers who awake in an underground, medieval dungeon." The film received distribution from

Lionsgate Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation, doing business as Lionsgate, is a Canadian-American entertainment company. It was formed by Frank Giustra on July 10, 1997, domiciled in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and is currently headquartered ...

Home Entertainment following a screening at Cannes and was retitled '' Game of Assassins''. For the film, Eskandari received several accolades, including the Best Director award from the Asians On Film Festival and the Winter Film Award for Best Feature Film. The official release on DVD and digital VOD was September 23, 2014. In 2016, Eskandari began filming a new film he co-wrote entitled ''The Deep End''. The film's cast included

Tobin Bell Tobin may refer to: Name *Tobin (surname) * Tobin (given name) Places in the United States * Tobin, California * Tobin Bridge, near Boston, Massachusetts * Tobin Range, a mountain range in Nevada * Tobin Township, Perry County, Indiana * Tobin ...

Nora-Jane Noone Nora-Jane Noone (born 8 March 1984) is an Irish actress. In 2020, ''The Irish Times'' ranked her 47th on its list of the greatest Irish film actors of all time. She made her screen debut in the drama film ''The Magdalene Sisters'' (2002) and h ...

, and Alexandra Park. It was re-titled to ''

'' and released wide on June 20, 2017 by

Mar Vista Entertainment MarVista Entertainment is an American production company, based in Westwood, Los Angeles, California. The company mainly provides financing and some original content, mainly made-for-TV films and direct-to-SVOD titles, many of which are carried b ...

Filmography

*''The Taking'' (short film) (2004) *''Retribution'' (short film) (2008) *''Victim'' (2010) *'' Game of Assassins'' (2013) *''

'' (2017) *''

Trauma Center A trauma center (or trauma centre) is a hospital equipped and staffed to provide care for patients suffering from major trauma, major traumatic injuries such as Falling (accident), falls, motor vehicle collisions, or gunshot wounds. A trauma cent ...

'' (2019) *'' Survive the Night'' (2020) *'' Hard Kill'' (2020) *''

Wire Room Racketeering is a type of organized crime in which the perpetrators set up a coercive, fraudulent, extortionary, or otherwise illegal coordinated scheme or operation (a "racket") to repeatedly or consistently collect a profit. Originally and of ...

'' (2022)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Eskandari, Matt American film directors Iranian emigrants to the United States Iranian film directors Writers from Tehran Persian-language film directors Iranian screenwriters