Caveh Zahedi
Caveh Zahedi | |
|---|---|
| Born | Robert Caveh Zahedi April 29, 1960 Washington, D.C.,U.S. |
| Education | UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television |
| Occupation(s) | Film director, actor, educator |
| Spouse(s) | Isabelle Menant (m. 1983–1986; divorced), Suzanne Smith (m. 1995–1997, divorced), Amanda Field (m. 2003–2023; divorced) |
Caveh Zahedi(/ˈkɑːveɪzəˈhɛdi/;born April 29, 1960) is an Americanfilm director,actor, and educator.
Early years
[edit]Zahedi was born inWashington, D.C.,toIranianimmigrant parents and raised inLos Angeles.
Los Angeles
[edit]Zahedi subsequently returned toLos Angelesto attendUCLA film school.In the UCLA graduate program he completed his first feature film,A Little Stiff(1991). The film was an experimental narrative in which he re‑enacted his unrequited love for a UCLA art student, using real-life participants.
His feature film,I Don't Hate Las Vegas Anymore(1994), documented his attempt to bond with his estranged father and half-brother on a road trip toLas Vegas.
San Francisco
[edit]In 1998, Zahedi moved toSan Francisco,where he made his next feature,In the Bathtub of the World(2001).[1]The film was a year-long video diary, with the premise of recording one minute every day for an entire year, and editing the footage down to 90 minutes. The film premiered on theIndependent Film Channel.In 2004, Zahedi releasedTripping with Caveh,a 30‑minute film which was originally intended to be used as a pilot episode for a television show that did not eventuate. It documents amushroomtrip with indie-folk starWill Oldham.
Starting in 2001, he taught film at theSan Francisco Art Institute.[2]
Recent work
[edit]In 2005 Caveh's filmI Am a Sex Addictwas released, which took fifteen years to make due to financial and production difficulties. Through re‑enactments, the film recounted Zahedi's struggle with his addiction toprostitutesand the havoc it wreaked on his marriages and romantic relationships. When the completed project was rejected bySundance,Zahedi tried to distribute the film himself. It was only after he won theGotham Award,for "Best Film Not Playing in a Theater Near You", thatIFC Filmspicked up the film.[3]Since that time, Zahedi has made several short films, including "Dada", published by Focus Features,[4]and "The Unmaking of I Am a Sex Addict," released on the DVD magazineWholphin.[5]
Caveh's latest filmThe Sheik and I,released in 2012,[6]is a feature-length version of a shorter film commissioned by theSharjah Biennial.It was subsequently banned in Sharjah.[7]
In 2015, the Factory 25 label released an anthology 6-DVD box set,Digging My Own Grave: The Films of Caveh Zahedi,that collects all of Zahedi's works to date.[8]
In 2016, Zahedi began working on a television series forBRIC TVcalledThe Show About The Show.It is a show about its own making, with each episode detailing the making of the previous episode.[9]
Awards
[edit]- 1997:Guggenheim Fellowship
- 2005:Gotham Awards"Best Film Not Playing in a Theater Near You"
- 2008:Rome Prize
References
[edit]Notes
- ^Megan Milks (April 9, 2002)."Zahedi welcomes C-ville to his 'World'".The Cavalier Daily.Archived fromthe originalon March 20, 2012.Retrieved2007-10-31.
- ^"Sticking With Caveh Zahedi".UnionDocs.2010-02-05.Retrieved2024-04-02.
- ^Neva Chonin (April 3, 2006)."Success hurts -- at least where filmmaker, ex-sex addict Caveh Zahedi is concerned".San Francisco Chronicle.Retrieved2007-10-31.
- ^"Indie Babies: Caveh Zahedi'sDada
- ^""Wholphin No. 9"".Archived fromthe originalon September 16, 2011.
- ^IndieWire Staff (March 5, 2012)."Meet the 2012 SXSW Filmmakers #13: Caveh Zahedi, 'The Sheik and I'".
- ^Kennedy, Randy (April 13, 2011)."A Film Angers an Emirate Festival".The New York Times.
- ^"Factory 25".Archivedfrom the original on 2014-05-28.Retrieved2020-07-29.
- ^Eric Kohn (December 28, 2015)."The Feature Length Film May Be Dying, But this Filmmaker Has Found a New Calling".IndieWire.Retrieved2018-02-13.
External links
[edit]| International | |
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| National | |
