Bani Khoshnoudi is an Iranian-American filmmaker, born in Tehran, Iran. She is a recipient of the 2017 Sundance Institute Women at Work Fellowship, 2018 San Francisco Film Society Documentary Film Fund, and 2019 San Francisco Film Society Feature Film Fund.
Khoshnoudi’s career began in documentary filmmaking and she has since worked on several films, some of which have screened at various festivals including SXSW, Hot Docs, and the Los Angeles Film Festival. Her debut feature film, “The Paternal House”, tells the story of a young Iranian woman who returns to her family’s home in Tehran after a long absence, only to find that her father has died and the house is now occupied by strangers. The film has been well received and was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the 2016 San Francisco International Film Festival.
In addition to her feature film work, Khoshnoudi has directed several short documentaries, including “A Place Called Home”, which follows three Iranian-American women as they grapple with their identity and heritage, and “The Way Home”, which chronicles the struggles of Iranian immigrants in the United States. Her latest project, “The Persian Dreams”, is a documentary about the Iranian diaspora, and it was recently featured on Al Jazeera America.
Khoshnoudi’s films often explore themes of identity and displacement, drawing on her own experiences as an Iranian living in the United States. She is also a passionate advocate for female filmmakers, and has been a vocal supporter of the Women In Film movement. In her own words, “I believe that women’s voices should be heard and that we need to create a platform to do so.”
Through her work, Khoshnoudi has become an important voice in the Iranian-American filmmaking community, and she continues to push the boundaries of storytelling and representation. Her films have been praised for their thought-provoking approach to difficult topics, and her unique perspective has made her one of the most respected filmmakers in the industry.
