Grainy Pixel
Height of the Kite
short documentary, 26 minutes, 2024
Logline:
In a rural area of Balochistan, on the border of Iran and Pakistan, where women can only sing in private rituals, a teenage girl called Fariba wants to sing in public. Can she overcome the gender and racial discrimination preventing her?​
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Directed & Produced by:
Mehraneh Salimian & Amin Pakparvar​​
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Screenings and Awards:
44th Nafa: the world oldest Ethnographic Film Festival -Macedonia
21st Jecheon International Music and Film Festival - South Korea
52nd Athens International Film Festival (Oscar Qualifying) - U.S.
**Nominated for the Best Short Documentary**
34th Saint Louis Film Festival (Oscar Qualifying) - U.S.
**Nominated for the Best Short Documentary**
45th Durban International Film Festival (Oscar Qualifying) - South Africa
**Nominated for the Best Student Short Film**
22nd Big Sky International Film Festival (Oscar Qualifying) - U.S.
**Nominated for the Best Short Documentary**
15th Ethnofest Film Festival - Greece
**Nominated for the Best Student Short Film**
56th Visions du Reel Film Market - Switzerland
Working Artist Organization - U.S.
**Winner of Best Art Piece**
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Memories of a Window
Work in Progress
short documentary, 19 minutes, 2025
Logline:
After crackdowns on street protests in Iran, a group of students and civilians turn to a new form of resistance: filming the unrest from behind their windows to create an alternative archive that challenges the state’s official records. When a woman is shot while recording from her car window, a film student writes her a letter, recalling her own memories of the protests. As she writes, one question lingers: Can a revolution happen from behind a window? ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​
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Written & Directed by:
Mehraneh Salimian & Amin Pakparvar
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Death and the Dragon
short documentary, 42 minutes, 2020
Logline:
"Death and the dragon" recounts a Persian fable that characterizes a dragon (an evil creature responsible for drought) and combines the myth with environmental straits in Tehran's contemporary history to reveal upcoming detriments.
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Directed by: Amin Pakparvar
Produced by: Arian Attarpour
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Screenings and Awards:
38th Tehran international short film festival (Oscar Qualifying) - Iran
**Winner of the best Research, nominated for the Best Documentary**
14th Iran Documentary Film Festival “Cinema Verite” - Iran
**Nominated for the Best Research and Audience award**
12th Cinema Verde International Environmental Film Festival - U.S.
**Winner of Honorable Mention**
11th Omid International Student Short Film Festival - Iran
**Winner of Best Documentary**
17th Nahal International Short Film Festival - Iran
**Winner of honorable mention**
13th Sayeh Student Short Film Festival - Iran
**Nominated for Best Documentary**
50th Roshd International Film Festival - Iran
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Gravestone's Touch
Work in Progress
video installation, 2025
Logline:
When families face the execution of their loved ones, they often hide photographs in an attempt to forget the loss. Yet mourning remains, and when descendants discover these hidden photos tucked away in closets, they can sense the scent of grief. Gravestone’s Touch is a video installation, which includes a short documentary and spaces laden with Amin's family archive, capturing the scent he discovered in his grandmother’s closet.
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Directed by:
Amin Pakparvar & Mehraneh Salimian
Exhibitions:
Expo Chicago 2025 (Midwest Premier International Art Fair)
Body/Building Exhibition at SAIC galleries,
Foaming at the Mouth Exhibition at Color Club
Archive as Action, Archive as Discourse at Northwestern University’s Dittmar Memorial Gallery
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