My first feature documentary, Fragments of Freedom is finally completed, and I am working on the distribution and screenings. The film is an intimate portrait of those impacted by 2020 Minneapolis uprising on Lake Street and the Longfellow neighborhood.
Currently, I am working on a personal documentary, Fragments of Freedom which chronicles my experience of our current social upheaval as an immigrant and exile. The story begins in the aftermath of lockdowns. It weaves together excerpts from my diary, conversations with friends, family members, and my students. The tone is urgent and interrogatory.
Objects of Love will premiere on the December 26, 2020 at 4 pm and 7 pm ET (3 pm and 6 pm CST). Additional air times are on January 8, 13, 17, 26, and February 4 & 8, 2021
ShortsTV is available in the US on the following platforms: DirecTV CH 573, AT&T U-Verse CH 1789, US Sonet CH 292, Century Link CH 1789, Frontier CH 1789, Google Fiber CH 603.
Objects of Love Watch for updates.
Objects of Love’s principal photography was completed this October and currently is in the post with the completion date in January 2020.
Delta Rae Giordano & Sophia Pietrkowski
Cast and crew
Jila Nikpay Writer /Director/Editor
Delta Rae Giordano / Nasim
Sophia Pietrkowski / Roya
David Schnack / Cinematographer
Sound recordist/ Mike Terati
Travis Hottinger / Grip
Make-up & Hair/ Gregg Tusler
I will be teaching this workshop at FilmNorth August 24 & 25, 2019.
The Screen and the Female Gaze: A Filmmaking Intensive
In this immersive, hands-on, two-day workshop we turn to female directors such as Lynne Ramsay, Jane Campion, and Claire Denis for inspiration for visual storytelling. We begin by screening selected clips, followed by a group discussion to spark ideas for writing a short script. Students learn the basic principles of writing a screenplay as well as valuable insights on how to stage a scene, plus direct actors and the camera. Participants work with the other class members as their cast and crew. Activities include learning how the meaning is constructed through film language, generating ideas, creating a shot list, principal photography, editing, and class feedback.
Date: Saturday-Sunday, August 24-25, 2019
Time: 9:00 am – 7:00 pm
Location: 550 Vandalia Street, Suite 120
Saint Paul, MN 55114
651-644-1912
http://myfilmnorth.org/event/the-screen-the-female-gaze/
I will be teaching this workshop at FilmNorth March 2 & 3, 2019.
Visit FilmNorth website for more detail on this workshop
http://myfilmnorth.org/event/the-screen-the-female-gaze/
I will be teaching a production workshop at IFP/ MN, “The Screen and Female Gaze.” Generating ideas is the most difficult part of filmmaking. What would be a better way to spark the imagination than viewing and discussing contemporary women directors for inspiration. Class participants will also learn to write and direct a short film.
Date: January 30 – February 20, 2016
Time: Saturdays 10 am to 2 pm
Visit IFP website for more detail on this workshop:
http://ifpmn.org/event/the-screen-the-female-gaze/
See post:
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/screen-female-gaze-jila-nikpay?trk=pulse_spock-articles
The workshop took place at the College of Visual and Performing Arts, Syracuse University, March 31- April 11 2014
Abbas Kiarostami shared with us his work and asked us to make short inspired by what find around us. I first made a sketch, involving a survey with random individual passing by on SU campus. I wrote a script based on that and shot the next day with two of the workshop participants. I enjoyed his intuitive but highly rigorous approach to filmmaking.
Fulbright Fellowship Finalist
I moved to a finalist position for this very competitive award and the process was worthwhile. My plan was make a science fiction story about a woman who time-travels from an alien society to India. I would have made the film with local actors and crew in Pune, a city that is rich with theatre and film tradition. The experience would have mind boggling! India is undergoing a remarkable transition as it struggles to integrate its ancient past with a modern technological future. Society is grappling with the collision of western paradigms and traditional eastern thought, yet its poverty, spirituality, and modernity mix and coexist. This is precisely the kind of artistic setting that I thought would be an ideal backdrop for experimental science fiction.
December 2010 – February 2011
Faces of New America, environmental photographic and sound installation, Cargill Hall gallery, Minneapolis Central Library.
March – August 2010, Walker Art Center, Best Buy Film/Video Bay
In Waiting, 2008, U.S 16 mm black & white film transferred to video, 6:30 minutes. Showcased as part of Minnesota Independent Film & Television (MNTV) short films series.
2010 – Minnesota State Arts Board Media Arts grant for the production of Hour of the Dark, an experimental video exploring the relationship of an Iranian expatriate with the recent Iran uprising.
2009 – St. Paul Foundation Grant for Exploration of Identity through Photographic Portraiture, A six month artist residency at Como Park Senior High School, an ethnically diverse inner city school. The project utilizes the art of photographic portraiture for exploring the challenging issues of race, identity and cultural assimilation.
December 2008
Labyrinth, 2007, U.S. color video, 4 minutes. Airs on TPT as part of the Minnesota Independent Film & Television (MNTV) short films series.
