Amir Zargara

Amir Zargara is an Iranian-Canadian writer/director whose unique perspective is shaped by Iran and Canada. His journey, marked by the resilience of an immigrant and living with a stutter, influences his filmmaking.

He is an alumnus of the Berlinale Fiction Toolbox, the Zurich Film Festival Academy, and the Reykjavík International Film Festival (RIFF) Talent Lab. Recognized at prestigious festivals like Amnesty, Hollyshorts, Nashville, Reykjavík, and Rhode Island, his work explores moral complexities and advocates for empathy over judgment.

His short film A Good Day Will Come qualified for the Oscars and won several awards, including the Golden Egg Award at the Reykjavík International Film Festival (2024), the Silver Screen Award at the Young Director Award (YDA) (2024), and Best Canadian Short Film at the Vancouver SF Festival (2024), presented by the Directors Guild of Canada.

His screenplays — top 1% on The Black List — have been praised for their humanity and tension, from the Nicholls, Slamdance, and Austin.

Amir has worked with acclaimed talents such as Oscar nominee Barkhad Abdi (Captain Phillips) and Mehdi Bajestani (Holy Spider), and his films have been distributed by Mongrel, The Criterion Channel, CBC, Bell, and BFI.