Sara Zandieh is an

Iranian American Iranian Americans are United States citizens or nationals who are of Iranian ancestry or who hold Iranian citizenship. Iranian Americans are among the most highly educated people in the United States. They have historically excelled in busin ...

filmmaker whose film, ''The Pool Party'', won second place at the

Tribeca Film Festival The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by TriBeCa Productions, Tribeca Productions. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive progra ...

. It received a Special Jury Mention. Zandieh is a

Fulbright Scholar The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people of ...

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

Works

In 2009, Sara Zandieh entered a story called ''The Pool Party'' in the Narrative Magazine ''30 Below'' contest for writers between the ages of 18 and 30. She was among the top ten N30B finalists and won $100 for her effort. In 2010, Zandieh directed ''The Pool Party''. It is a 14-minute

short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

that was shot in

Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...

just before the 2009-2010 Iranian election crisis. It documents the story of a male servant, who must fully repair a pool while acting as a surrogate father to the master's daughter. Zandieh combined

social realism Social realism is the term used for work produced by painters, printmakers, photographers, writers and filmmakers that aims to draw attention to the real socio-political conditions of the working class as a means to critique the power structure ...

with

allegory As a literary device or artistic form, an allegory is a narrative or visual representation in which a character, place, or event can be interpreted to represent a hidden meaning with moral or political significance. Authors have used allegory th ...

to illustrate the servant's struggle.

2010 Tribeca Film Festival

Zandieh's film was one of 47 short films screened in

Lower Manhattan Lower Manhattan (also known as Downtown Manhattan or Downtown New York) is the southernmost part of Manhattan, the central borough for business, culture, and government in New York City, which is the most populated city in the United States with ...

theaters. Like

Tal Rosner Tal Rosner (born in Jerusalem, 9 June 1978) is a London-based Israeli filmmaker and video artist. Biography Tal Rosner is a graduate of Bezalel Academy of Art and Design in Jerusalem (2000–03) and Central Saint Martins College of Art and Desi ...

, Zandieh is a returning director. Amongst other directors premiering films, she competed against

Kirsten Dunst Kirsten Caroline Dunst (; born April 30, 1982) is an American actress. She made her acting debut in the short ''Oedipus Wrecks'' directed by Woody Allen in the anthology film ''New York Stories'' (1989). She then gained recognition for her rol ...

. Student kudos went to the winning short, ''Some Boys Don't Leave'', "with special mention going to Sara Zandieh's ''The Pool Party''." On April 29, 2010, ''The Pool Party'' was shown at the

Columbia University School of the Arts The Columbia University School of the Arts, (also known as School of the Arts or SoA) is the fine arts graduate school of Columbia University in Morningside Heights, New York. It offers Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degrees in Film, Visual Arts, ...

' 23rd Annual Film Festival.

Awards

Zandieh won a 2009-2010 grant from the

Fulbright Program The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people of ...

. This program is the "most widely recognized and prestigious international exchange program in the world." She is one of 40

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

students chosen and listed with the

United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other n ...

as being a

filmmaking Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, casti ...

student from

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

Filmography

* ''Handsome Harry'' (2009) * ''The Pool Party'' (2010) * '' A Simple Wedding'' (2019) * ''

The Other Zoey ''The Other Zoey'' is an upcoming American romantic comedy film directed by Sara Zandieh. The film will star Josephine Langford. Cast *Josephine Langford as Zoey Miller *Drew Starkey *Archie Renaux *Andie MacDowell *Heather Graham *Patrick Fabia ...

'' (2023)

References

External links

*
''The Pool Party''

, Retrieved: 2010-05-16. * * https://www.huffingtonpost.com/sara-zandieh {{DEFAULTSORT:Zandieh, Sara American people of Iranian descent American women film directors Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Columbia University School of the Arts alumni 21st-century American women