Today we’d like to introduce you to Armin Nasseri.
Hi Armin, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I have been a fan of visual arts and storytelling since my early childhood. I am a first-generation Iranian-American that grew up in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. My father is an architect and a talented painter and I would be exposed to his paintings that he would have on a canvas in our household.
My mother would always encourage me to read and my older siblings introduced me to movies from our pop culture. I’ve always loved art, but I was mainly involved with sports, primarily basketball at a younger age. My love for arts eventually grew when I entered high school. I took a drama class. I started writing poetry and performing on stage as well as painting and drawing.
My oldest brother came home one day with a copy of Goodfellas. I was introduced to the work of Martin Scorsese.
Scorsese’s films changed the way I view movies. My brother also introduced me to Alfred Hitchcock’s films along with Stanley Kubrick’s work. I started renting movies by auteur directors at the video store before there were streaming platforms. My appreciation for cinema continued to grow.
During a holiday, I was hanging out with my childhood friend, who is also a first-generation Iranian-American and he showed me a short film that he was in. The short film was directed by Ramin Bahrani, who went on to direct The White Tiger. I met Ramin when I was eight years old. Ramin and his older brother were old friends of my older brothers from their high school days. The fact that I saw someone who looks and sounds like me, who happens to be born and raised in the same city as me, has given me the courage and inspiration to pursue a career in filmmaking.
I went to acting school and studied film and production at Los Angeles City College and West L.A. College. After I graduated, I have done almost everything you can imagine on a film set from storyboard images to editing and everything in between. I’m very humbled that my short films “Seeking Valentina” and “The Carting Call” have garnered awards, and nominations and have appeared in film festivals both domestically and internationally. During the height of the pandemic, I co-directed an award-winning, socially distanced feature film “The Central Authority” with my long-time collaborator Kristin West. After the release of The Central Authority, I was honored to direct two music videos: “Miles Around” and “Safe.” Both songs are performed by Aventurine.
I am honored that the music video for Miles Around has garnered awards and nominations from film festivals. I also just completed the first documentary feature that I directed and produced with Kristin West and Matt Chassin. The documentary film “George Hobbs: Stick Figure Wisdom,” is about an L.A. contemporary artist named George Hobbs, who rediscovers his love of art through stick figures. The documentary film will be released to an audience soon.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It’s not always a smooth road. Whenever you feel you are making progress, there’s always going to be a pushback. I originally came from a small city where everything moved so slowly.
In Los Angeles, it is much more fast-paced. I had to quickly adapt to the big city lifestyle because competition is so fierce. I was auditioning for roles and went through several rejections. I am a filmmaker now and I have made projects that are a proven success, but it’s still very hard to get funding for projects that you want to get made.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I started Polar Underworld Productions when I was taking film courses at LACC. There were a number of actors, directors, and producers that were making movies with their own production companies and that inspired me to form my own company for creative control. As a filmmaker, I wanted to use my own production to give a voice to the voiceless. For example, I wrote, directed, and produced a short film titled Seeking Valentina.
Seeking Valentina focused on a first and second-generation Iranian-American family as leading actors and actresses in non-stereotypical roles. The film received an Honorable Mention at the Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards.
Five years after its release, Seeking Valentina got another life when it was picked up by Shorts TV. I am really proud that this project that I poured my heart into, has stood the test of time. I am also proud that I continued to make more films that created an inclusive community both in front of the camera and behind the camera. The reception was positive and it’s proven that the audiences want to see visual stories that are a reflection of America.
Do you have any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
Going to the roller skating rink.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @arminnasseri
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/arminnasserifilmmaker
Image Credits
George Hobbs, Chris Webb, Kristin West, and Tarín Bai
