Today we’d like to introduce you to Sahar Ghorishi.
Hi Sahar, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
My name is Sahar, and I’m a British-Iranian Filmmaker studying Directing at Chapman University and creating Art between London and California. Majority of my work revolves around shedding light on the pain and beauty of the Middle East. Before attending Chapman University, I created a platform to showcase short films and photography from the MENA / SWANA region known as Journey of/to Dawn. I am very thankful to have been able to collaborate more with folks here and showcase case that on Journey of/to Dawn.
As well as a resident artist at the Collective for Black Iranians, many of my illustrations and animations have been featured on platforms such as Middle East Matters, The Guardian, Harpers and film screenings for films such as the ‘The Persian Version’.
I’ve been creating artwork and film since I quit my law degree in 2018. The foundation of everything I do is to give voice to minorities and create spaces for important conversations. I believe art is a beautiful way to center important and necessary voices. I believed that my love for activism would be best suited in the study of Law. However, I found myself merging activism and art and haven’t stopped doing that since.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Moving from London to California has been a dream but also difficult. When I came to California, the women life and freedom movement had just started after the death of Mahsa/ Jina Amini. This was heartbreaking and challenging, especially being away from family during that time. I created a lot of art for this movement, sharing it on social media to raise awareness. However, it was hard to take care of my mental health while dealing with the stress of being in grad school and hearing upsetting news from Iran.
Despite all this, I feel lucky to have worked on a film for the movement this year with my close friends. It was tough, but I’m grateful I stayed strong and kept going.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am an Iranian multidisciplinary artist based in London and Los Angeles. The founder of a creative directing platform, Journey of/to Dawn, and a resident artist at the Collective for Black Iranians.
One of my proudest moments was reciting the 65th annual award for journalism on a panel discussion I was part of called “How Girls Can Win in Iran.” held by Zocalo Public Square in Downtown Los Angeles.
Alright, so before we go, can you talk to us a bit about how people can work with you, collaborate with you, or support you?
I would love for folks to keep updated with activism art on Instagram @sahar_ghorishi.x and to keep updated on my film platform @journeyoftodawn, where I will be promoting our most recent short film and sharing more info on how to support our new short being made soon, which centers displacement and centering female voices!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.saharghorishi.com/work-5-1
- Instagram: @sahar_ghorishi.x
- Facebook: @journeyoftodawn
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sahar-ghorishi-1b7452131/
- Other: @journeyoftodawn
Image Credits
Noor Nematt
Drew Ma
Chaewon Suh
