| Iranian-born
Kamshad Kooshan immigrated to the United States
at the age of sixteen. He has been involved with
photography since he was twelve years old and has
had many exhibitions. Additionally he has directed
full length plays in various San Francisco venues,
and has written and published many short stories,
some of which were gathered in a collection called
Moonlit Garden, published by Raha Press.
Since graduating from San Francisco State University
and studying at the American Conservatory Of Theatre,
Mr. Kooshan has written and directed three short
films, the last of which, The Last Illusion, has
been screened by such prominent institutions as
the American Film Institute and the UCLA Film
& Television Archive. He has been teaching
at the Graduate Motion Picture & Video department
of the Academy of Art College in San Francisco
for the past four years. Surviving Paradise is
his feature debut and the first American film
by an Iranian-American filmmaker to be distributed
in North America.
Director's Statement
As an immigrant who came to my new home in the
United States twenty years ago, I wanted to tell
a simple story for children to be both inspired
and challenged by, which was watchable by both
parents and their children (8 years and up), and
is not too violent by making the hit men a bit
funny and bungling. My hope is that even though
some stereotypes are used, children (and their
parents) are encouraged to think about such issues
as diversity, tolerance and resilience.
Kamshad Kooshan
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