Armin Etemadi
- Producer
- Director
- Writer
Armin Etemadi is a non-binary Iranian filmmaker, writer and researcher whose work explores dreams, memory and feminist interiorities through formally inventive yet low-budget cinema. His practice is rooted in reclaiming the female body and soul in spaces often silenced by patriarchal structures.
Education and Training: Armin holds an M.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering from Sharif University of Technology (Iran's most prestigious technical university) and completed a two-year comprehensive Filmmaking Program at the Iranian Youth Cinema Society (IYCS), officially equivalent to a Master's degree in Cinema. He has also served as script advisor and directing consultant on numerous independent shorts.
Film Work & Recognition: His previous short film, "Fading Dream" screened at Oscar-qualifying festivals including Tehran International Short Film Festival (2023) and Flickers' Rhode Island International Film Festival (2025). His latest work, "Prehistoric", is a narrative short blending surreal grief landscapes with tactile mise-en-scène. It had its International Premiere at the 40th Fribourg International Film Festival, where it was awarded the Best International Short Film Award. It also had its World Premiere at the 42nd Tehran International Short Film Festival, where it was nominated for Best Editing, Best Production Design and the Special Award of the Iranian Critics and Writers Association. Armin is also the author of two feature-length screenplays, one now moving into production.
Research & Publications: Armin contributes regularly to "Women Today", Iran's leading magazine on women's issues, publishing essays on the history of women filmmakers and feminist aesthetics. His English essay on Andrea Luka Zimmerman was published in the Blu-ray collection of her films.
Artistic Collaborations: In Paris, he is going to collaborate with Centre Culturel Pouya on "Bend Your Knees to Exist", a dance-film project on intimacy, urban space and reclaiming the female body. His research integrates art history, feminist theory and cinematic practice.
Artistic Approach: Armin's cinema prioritizes ecological, collaborative production methods and a tactile, artistic visual language, yet representing a non-binary voice in Iranian cinema.
Education and Training: Armin holds an M.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering from Sharif University of Technology (Iran's most prestigious technical university) and completed a two-year comprehensive Filmmaking Program at the Iranian Youth Cinema Society (IYCS), officially equivalent to a Master's degree in Cinema. He has also served as script advisor and directing consultant on numerous independent shorts.
Film Work & Recognition: His previous short film, "Fading Dream" screened at Oscar-qualifying festivals including Tehran International Short Film Festival (2023) and Flickers' Rhode Island International Film Festival (2025). His latest work, "Prehistoric", is a narrative short blending surreal grief landscapes with tactile mise-en-scène. It had its International Premiere at the 40th Fribourg International Film Festival, where it was awarded the Best International Short Film Award. It also had its World Premiere at the 42nd Tehran International Short Film Festival, where it was nominated for Best Editing, Best Production Design and the Special Award of the Iranian Critics and Writers Association. Armin is also the author of two feature-length screenplays, one now moving into production.
Research & Publications: Armin contributes regularly to "Women Today", Iran's leading magazine on women's issues, publishing essays on the history of women filmmakers and feminist aesthetics. His English essay on Andrea Luka Zimmerman was published in the Blu-ray collection of her films.
Artistic Collaborations: In Paris, he is going to collaborate with Centre Culturel Pouya on "Bend Your Knees to Exist", a dance-film project on intimacy, urban space and reclaiming the female body. His research integrates art history, feminist theory and cinematic practice.
Artistic Approach: Armin's cinema prioritizes ecological, collaborative production methods and a tactile, artistic visual language, yet representing a non-binary voice in Iranian cinema.
