Today we’d like to introduce you to Amir Moini.
Hi Amir, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I was seven years old when my dad decided to let me have an old video camera he found while cleaning out our basement. That was a pivotal moment for me when my love for film was combined with a resource to physically create them. I began writing and filming horror movies, family and friends begrudgingly filming chase sequences and being killed off in elaborate and oftentimes, absurd ways.
When I first moved to Los Angeles after college and completing a program called Teach For America, I only had a few thousand dollars saved up to my name. I volunteered at nonprofit Galas to network, did free internships and worked odd jobs to make ends meet. I slept on an air mattress in someone’s living room that I had found off Craigslist and every day I would have numerous networking coffees, trying to open doors to opportunities. I was actually down to only $20 to my name, when I was able to get my first job at the Los Angeles LGBT Center.
It was at the Center that one of my corporate clients was Netflix. This opened the door to me eventually joining the company in 2015 as an entry-level recruiter. From there, I was given an incredible opportunity to build out their Employer Brand function – a hybrid role of recruiting and marketing where I branded Netflix as an amazing place to work through innovative storytelling across written, audio and visual formats on social media. What started off as a small endeavor quickly snowballed. I was moved into Netflix’s Communications team, lived and traveled all around the world including Tokyo, Singapore, Amsterdam and Brazil, and directed over 100 video campaigns, learning the skills I use as a director now. My creativity and autonomy flourished and it reginited a spark that had been put out for a long time.
The combination of directing at Netflix, led me to the inevitable path of pursuing film and television again. I directed my first short film called Slashr in 2023, which premiered at Screamfest in Los Angeles and went on to play in nearly 25 film festivals in 12 countries, winning 8 awards. I completed Ryan Murphy’s Half Initiative – a month-long director’s shadow program where I shadowed the show 9-1-1 and I am going to be directing my first television episode this summer on a new scripted series called Sub/liminal.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I mentioned some of the challenges, but it has definitely not been a smooth road (even in the moments it appears to be). Whether it was coming down to the last of my financial resources without a job when I first moved to Los Angeles or creative projects that ended up not working out, every “success” stands on numerous failures in the foundation underneath.
For example, I co-wrote a television series in 2020 with a writing partner and we were able to get it optioned and attach a showrunner. And then the pandemic happened, leaving the show in limbo. The showrunner left, the option expired and our project we spent years writing didn’t go anywhere. That was difficult to bounce back from, but what other option do we have?
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I’m a horror director and an avid horror fan. Rather than trying to do 100 different things, I’ve committed to one lane and investing all my energy in doing that well. My brain is like an encyclopedia of horror films – I’ve seen just about every horror film that exists and love to debate them!
Do you any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
The excitement and investment in getting to make movies with my friends and family. It was so fun to do and there were no political or business considerations to be had. It was rooted in pure joy, out of love for film.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: amirmichael89
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@amirmoinifilms
Image Credits
Paula Neves
