Check Out Shahin Gorgani’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Shahin Gorgani.

Hi Shahin, 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.
My name is Shahin Gorgani a  filmmaker, musician, and actor from Iran based in Los Angeles; I believe art in all forms is like imagination; it has no boundaries, rules, or limitations.

As a child, my dream was to become an actor. I went secretly to acting classes with my sister Nasim when I was eleven years old. Every morning before going to school, the first thing I did was read my cinema newspaper. Cinema was a fantastical site that could give shape and expression to all of my imaginings, desires, fears, joys, and sorrows. My parents were professors at Tehran University and like many Iranian parents, they wanted their child to be a doctor, lawyer, or engineer. The acting classes were expensive, so Nasim and I decided to go to learn music. I started playing classic guitar at first and then Iranian drums and percussion professionally when I was seventeen. I was a musician for a big play in Tehran for several months while I had to pass the most important exam in Iran. I used to tell my dad that I am studying in 24 hours library while playing music in the play.

I moved to the U.S. when I was nineteen years old. It was very tough in the beginning since I did not like to leave Iran. I still have a special regard and so much love for my country. The only thing that kept me motivated here in the state was music. I had the privilege to have concerts with many accomplished Iranian musicians, such as Grammy-nominated Keyhan Kalhor and Shams Ensemble in venues like Lincoln Center NY, Library of Congress, and Davies Symphony Hall. I received my Bachelor of Science in Clinical Nutrition from UC Davis and worked in a couple of start-ups in Silicon Valley for about 6 years.

Meanwhile, one of my dreams came true. I was lucky enough to be an actor in three plays by Bahram Beyzaie, Iran’s most prominent contemporary playwright and director. Bahram Beyzaie truly changed my vision. After getting fired from the first company I was working for in 2017 while being on vacation in France, my friend told me: “This is a great opportunity, you always wanted to go to film school, now is the time.”

He was right; it was the time. I applied to top schools, I only had three months to make my portfolio. I got accepted to my dream world, CalArts, an art school with no boundaries, rules, or regulations about art. You are there to be an artist, to find yourself, and your vision, expand your perspective, and fulfill your imagination. CalArts changed my life. That community with so many visionary and fabulous artists was the place for me to find and nourish my point of view.  I received my MFA from CalArts, I taught Iranian cinema for a semester and I was a juror at Guadalajara International Film Festival while in the program.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
The journey is never smooth, if it is all smooth there is something wrong. I learned that the comfort zone for people like me is not always right. I need to challenge and fail to grow.

My family would be the first challenge and obstacle. They appreciate art with their limitation, and studying art and becoming an artist was not something that they would support, but I did it because I believed I need to do what I wanted. I felt the urge to write and to create, to illustrate my thoughts and struggles in life, and to find the meanings and answers I was seeking through art. Financial fear was always an obstacle until I thought the money should not be a showstopper; you must do it. Even if I did go to medical school to dental school, I had to have a lot of loans, but at least now I have that with what I wanted to do.

Expectation is another problem. I am against the expectations that people expect from you to do what they want you to do, and that should not be the case. We have the freedom to decide and make our choices; even if they are different and not “normal.” In fact, they should not be normal because the norm is not personalized, we are all different and that is the beauty of it.

Thanks – so, what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I just finished my short film When There Were Trees in Iran which is about “Azar, an elderly Iranian actress, reads of her friend’s death in the newspaper. She asks a theater company to help find her body. Along the way, she opens up about her past, regrets, and  Simin, her friend, whom she loved.” When There Were Trees underlies the following themes: death, regrets, and sexual identity in modern Iran. My film will seek an answer to what happens in a traditional and religious society that suppresses its individuals to conform to social norms and deny their own identity, someone falls in love with the same sex. In this piece, I wanted to share how I see the beautiful yet diverse Iranian landscapes, literature, and more importantly the people.

I look at art as a philosophy that teaches me how to see the world differently, and then I can share how I see the world with other people.

I enjoy writing and creating my characters, stories, and themes. I write a lot about identity, regret, and death.

Identity is a critical element of my work. My philosophy follows that with an emphasis on personal voices. I suppose that art is a journey, and it can change the world by raising questions and inviting us to think and explore the answers about anything in life and life itself.

As an Iranian who had to battle with so many things to make my dreams come true. I want to help individuals who follow their passion, find their voice, learn about who they are, and expand their perspective and vision; that is the reason I love teaching.

Currently, I am teaching at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts in the filmmaking department.

I just finished my first feature and hoped to find a team to make it happen. The story is inspired by my personal life especially my relationship with my mother. It follows the same themes of identity, death, and regret that are pretty central in my work.

Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?
I love food and cooking for the people I love; cooking gives me motivation and brings inspiration. I found the process of cooking is very similar to filmmaking. I played squash for over 15 years and still play when I get a chance.

I am a big fan of tea and coffee and love to go to coffee shops all over the world. I love exploration and challenges; that’s why my dream is to live in different parts of the world.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.studiodastanfilms.com