Biography

Zara Zandieh (born 1980) is a director, filmmaker, and author born in Berlin. Queer and post-migrant characters often take center stage in Zara’s stories. They are multifaceted, self-ironic, resilient, complex, and are narrated and staged with a great deal of love and tenderness within their contradictions. Zara is inspired by the narrative styles and film languages of arthouse cinema, as well as queer pop culture.

Zara’s short films and video installations have been exhibited at various international film festivals, garnering acclaim and receiving awards. They have been recognized for their innovative storytelling and artistic merit. Zara has been the recipient of two working grants from the Berlin Senate to support the development of their creative projects. In 2021, Octavia’s Visions received the ZONTA Prize, further cementing Zara’s reputation as a talented and visionary filmmaker. Currently, Zara is dedicated to developing fictional projects, revising the screenplay for their queer debut film In Your Hands following treatment funding and development funding from the FFA (German Federal Film Board). Together with Tia Morgen, Zara is creating the miniseries Cloud9 (working title).