NAGHMEH SHIRKHAN started her career in the 1990’s editing independent documentaries and feature films for New York City based filmmakers. During that time, she was also teaching filmmaking to high school students. She wrote, directed and co-produced The Neighbor, her first feature-length narrative. The Neighbor has won awards for Best Actress, Best Film and Best Director.  It had its NYC premier at The MoMA,  and has screened at The Venice Biennale, as well as in competition at the Montreal, Vancouver, Chicago, Sao Paolo, and Chennai International Film Festivals. Shirkhan graduated from Boston University with a degree in Broadcasting and Film. She is currently working on her second film.

AMIR NADERI started his international career in Iran in the 1970s with award-winning films such as Waiting and Requiem. In the ‘80s, he helped focus international attention on Iranian cinema with acclaimed works such as The Runner and Water, Wind, Dust. Based in New York City since the late ‘80s, Naderi's U.S. films have premiered at the Film Society of Lincoln Center, MoMA’s New Films New Director’s series, the Venice, Cannes, Sundance and Tribeca Film Festivals.  Naderi has served as a jury member of international film festivals for over a decade.  His 2011 film Cut was shot entirely in Japanese and stars Hidetoshi Nishijima.  Amir Naderi continues to produce and collaborate with a new generation of directors such as Ramin Bahrani (99 Homes 2014), Naghmeh Shirkhan (The Neighbor 2010), Andrei Severny (Condition 2010) and Ry Russo-Young (Orphans 2007).

MOHSEN NAMJOO was born in 1976 in Torbat-e Jam, Iran. When he was a year old, his family moved to Mashhad where he spent the next seventeen years. When his father passed away, his family encouraged young Mohsen to attend music classes. In 1994 he was offered admission to study music at The University of Tehran. In 1997, Namjoo left the program and embarked on what has become one of the most successful solo music careers of any artist since the Iranian Revolution.