Raha Shirazi  

Raha Shirazi is an Iranian Canadian director and artist born in Tehran. Her childhood in Iran, combined with her education in Canada, has been a major source of inspiration for her short films, which have been presented at international festivals worldwide. Notably, FOUR WALLS premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and was later selected at over twenty international festivals. Her work has been described as “poetic, sophisticated, and profound.” In 2008, Raha was one of six Canadian directors selected to participate in the Berlinale Talent Campus, where she was invited to present her work. In 2009, for BravoFACT, she created Black Ice, a film about dance featuring the Toronto step-dance company of the same name, the short screened at numerous festivals across North America. That same year, she directed the documentary THE WAY MUST BE TRIED for OMNI Television, celebrating the 50th anniversary of York University. Beyond individual film projects, Raha has explored transmedia work combining cinema, theater, and architecture through collaborations with artists from various disciplines. In December 2010, she participated in a workshop with director Michelangelo Frammartino, which led to the short film Acqua, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival (2011). In 2014, she directed the short film Fuoco, an Italy/Canada co-production. She is currently working on her first feature fiction film, Terra, a co-production between Italy, France, and Canada, supported by Creative Europe MEDIA, MIC DGCA, Rai Cinema, Telefilm Canada, Wild FX, Rolling Pictures, Regione Toscana, and Lazio Cinema International. (07/28)