Caveh Zahedi
Encyclopedia
Caveh Zahedi is an American film director
and actor of Iranian
descent.
to Iran
ian immigrant parents. He studied philosophy at Yale University
. Upon graduation, Zahedi moved to Paris, France to find funding for his films, but failed to interest any French producers in his projects about Arthur Rimbaud
, Stéphane Mallarmé
, and Eadweard Muybridge
. He also succeeded in estranging himself from his idol, Jean-Luc Godard
, after he phoned Godard at 3 a.m. He also produced an experimental music video of a Talking Heads
song, which was rejected by David Byrne
.
. In the UCLA graduate program he completed his first feature film, A Little Stiff
(1991), with fellow student Greg Watkins. The film was an experimental narrative in which he re-enacted his unrequited love for a UCLA art student, using real-life participants. A Little Stiff premiered at the Sundance Film Festival
to critical acclaim, but did not bring commercial success.
His next 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 to Las Vegas. The film generated criticism after Zahedi insisted that his father and brother take the drug Ecstasy
with him on film. Though virulently panned by most American critics and a box office disaster, the film won the Critics' Award at the Rotterdam Film Festival and developed a cult following.
(2001). The film was a one-year video diary, with the premise of recording one minute of each day for an entire year, and editing the footage down to ninety minutes. The film premiered on the Independent Film Channel
.
In 2001, Zahedi made Tripping with Caveh
, a 30-minute film of a mushroom trip with singer-songwriter Will Oldham
(aka Bonnie 'Prince' Billy).
(2005), took fifteen years to make, due to financial and production difficulties. Through re-enactments, the film recounted Zahedi's struggle with his addiction to prostitutes and the havoc it wreaked on his marriages and romantic relationships. When the completed project was rejected by Sundance
, Zahedi tried to distribute the film himself. It was only after he won the Gotham Award, for "Best Film Not Playing in a Theater Near You," that IFC Films
picked up the film. Since that time, Zahedi has made several short films, including "Dada," published by Focus Features, and "The Unmaking of I Am a Sex Addict," released on the DVD magazine Wholphin. He is currently at work on a new film entitled The Sheikh and I, a feature length version of a shorter film commissioned by the Sharjah Biennial
and then subsequently banned.
Zahedi has also appeared in several films in acting roles, including Alexander Payne
's Citizen Ruth
, Greg Watkins' A Sign From God, Richard Linklater
's Waking Life
, and Registered Sex Offender. In September 2009, Zahedi had a role in the small film Unlimited Dreamtime - A 2 Week Film.
Zahedi is a professor of confessional cinema at the European Graduate School
in Saas-Fee
, Switzerland and he teaches film classes at The New School
in New York.
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
and actor of Iranian
Iranian peoples
The Iranian peoples are an Indo-European ethnic-linguistic group, consisting of the speakers of Iranian languages, a major branch of the Indo-European language family, as such forming a branch of Indo-European-speaking peoples...
descent.
Early years
Zahedi was born in Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
to Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
ian immigrant parents. He studied philosophy at Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
. Upon graduation, Zahedi moved to Paris, France to find funding for his films, but failed to interest any French producers in his projects about Arthur Rimbaud
Arthur Rimbaud
Jean Nicolas Arthur Rimbaud was a French poet. Born in Charleville, Ardennes, he produced his best known works while still in his late teens—Victor Hugo described him at the time as "an infant Shakespeare"—and he gave up creative writing altogether before the age of 21. As part of the decadent...
, Stéphane Mallarmé
Stéphane Mallarmé
Stéphane Mallarmé , whose real name was Étienne Mallarmé, was a French poet and critic. He was a major French symbolist poet, and his work anticipated and inspired several revolutionary artistic schools of the early 20th century, such as Dadaism, Surrealism, and Futurism.-Biography:Stéphane...
, and Eadweard Muybridge
Eadweard Muybridge
Eadweard J. Muybridge was an English photographer who spent much of his life in the United States. He is known for his pioneering work on animal locomotion which used multiple cameras to capture motion, and his zoopraxiscope, a device for projecting motion pictures that pre-dated the flexible...
. He also succeeded in estranging himself from his idol, Jean-Luc Godard
Jean-Luc Godard
Jean-Luc Godard is a French-Swiss film director, screenwriter and film critic. He is often identified with the 1960s French film movement, French Nouvelle Vague, or "New Wave"....
, after he phoned Godard at 3 a.m. He also produced an experimental music video of a Talking Heads
Talking Heads
Talking Heads were an American New Wave and avant-garde band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991. The band comprised David Byrne, Chris Frantz, Tina Weymouth and Jerry Harrison...
song, which was rejected by David Byrne
David Byrne (musician)
David Byrne is a musician and artist, best known as a founding member and principal songwriter of the American new wave band Talking Heads, which was active between 1975 and 1991. Since then, Byrne has released his own solo recordings and worked with various media including film, photography,...
.
Los Angeles
He subsequently returned to Los Angeles to attend UCLA film schoolUCLA School of Theater Film and Television
The UCLA School of Theatre, Film, and Television , is one of the twelve schools within UCLA. It is located in Los Angeles, California, USA, and is unique in that it combines all three of these aspects into a single school. The graduate programs are usually ranking within the top 3 nationally,...
. In the UCLA graduate program he completed his first feature film, A Little Stiff
A Little Stiff
A Little Stiff is a 1991 minimalist comedy directed by Caveh Zahedi and Greg Watkins based on true events and re-enacted by the actual participants...
(1991), with fellow student Greg Watkins. The film was an experimental narrative in which he re-enacted his unrequited love for a UCLA art student, using real-life participants. A Little Stiff premiered at the Sundance Film Festival
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...
to critical acclaim, but did not bring commercial success.
His next feature film, I Don't Hate Las Vegas Anymore
I Don't Hate Las Vegas Anymore
I Don't Hate Las Vegas Anymore is a 1994 documentary directed by Caveh Zahedi.-Plot:The film follows Caveh Zahedi on a road trip to Las Vegas with his father and half-brother in an attempt to prove the existence of God...
(1994), documented his attempt to bond with his estranged father and half-brother on a road trip to Las Vegas. The film generated criticism after Zahedi insisted that his father and brother take the drug Ecstasy
Methylenedioxymethamphetamine
MDMA is an entactogenic drug of the phenethylamine and amphetamine class of drugs. In popular culture, MDMA has become widely known as "ecstasy" , usually referring to its street pill form, although this term may also include the presence of possible adulterants...
with him on film. Though virulently panned by most American critics and a box office disaster, the film won the Critics' Award at the Rotterdam Film Festival and developed a cult following.
San Francisco
In 1998, Zahedi moved to San Francisco, where he made his next feature, In the Bathtub of the WorldIn the Bathtub of the World
In the Bathtub of the World is a video diary directed by Caveh Zahedi. It covers a year in Zahedi's life. The film was released in 2001.The director's idea was to shoot one minute each day and edit the footage down to ninety minutes....
(2001). The film was a one-year video diary, with the premise of recording one minute of each day for an entire year, and editing the footage down to ninety minutes. The film premiered on the Independent Film Channel
Independent Film Channel
The Independent Film Channel is an American cable TV network that airs independent film and related programming. IFC programming includes commercially interrupted feature-length films, original documentaries, shorts, animated series, original series, acquired series, and content exclusively for...
.
In 2001, Zahedi made Tripping with Caveh
Tripping with Caveh
Tripping with Caveh is a 30-minute documentary in which independent filmmaker Caveh Zahedi takes hallucinogenic mushrooms with singer-songwriter Will Oldham. The film was originally intended as the first installment of a would-be television series, but no other episodes have been shot to...
, a 30-minute film of a mushroom trip with singer-songwriter Will Oldham
Will Oldham
Will Oldham , better known by the stage name Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, is an American singer-songwriter and actor. From 1993 to 1997, he performed and recorded under variations of the Palace name, including the Palace Brothers, Palace Songs, and Palace Music...
(aka Bonnie 'Prince' Billy).
Recent work
His latest full-length film, I Am A Sex AddictI Am a Sex Addict
I Am a Sex Addict is a 2005 autobiographical comedy by American independent director and screenwriter Caveh Zahedi.Presented in semi-documentary style, the film chronicles Zahedi's own sex addiction and its impact on his life, relationships, and film making...
(2005), took fifteen years to make, due to financial and production difficulties. Through re-enactments, the film recounted Zahedi's struggle with his addiction to prostitutes and the havoc it wreaked on his marriages and romantic relationships. When the completed project was rejected by Sundance
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...
, Zahedi tried to distribute the film himself. It was only after he won the Gotham Award, for "Best Film Not Playing in a Theater Near You," that IFC Films
IFC Films
IFC Films is an American film distribution company based in New York, owned by AMC Networks. It distributes independent films and documentaries under the IFC Films, Sundance Selects and IFC Midnight. It operates the IFC Center....
picked up the film. Since that time, Zahedi has made several short films, including "Dada," published by Focus Features, and "The Unmaking of I Am a Sex Addict," released on the DVD magazine Wholphin. He is currently at work on a new film entitled The Sheikh and I, a feature length version of a shorter film commissioned by the Sharjah Biennial
Sharjah Biennial
The Sharjah Biennial is a celebrated cultural event in the Arab world. It is organised by the Sharjah Art Foundation.-Early days:Since its inception in 1993, the event has formed a cultural bridge between artists, art institutions and organisations locally, regionally and internationally...
and then subsequently banned.
Zahedi has also appeared in several films in acting roles, including Alexander Payne
Alexander Payne
Alexander Payne, born Alexander Constantine Papadopoulos is an American film director and screenwriter. His films are noted for their dark humor and satirical depictions of contemporary American society.- Early life :...
's Citizen Ruth
Citizen Ruth
Citizen Ruth is a 1996 film that tells a story of a poor, irresponsible and pregnant woman who unexpectedly attracts attention from those involved in the debate about the morality and legality of abortion. The film stars Laura Dern, Swoosie Kurtz, Mary Kay Place, Kurtwood Smith and Kelly Preston,...
, Greg Watkins' A Sign From God, Richard Linklater
Richard Linklater
-Early life:Linklater was born in Houston, Texas. He studied at Sam Houston State University and left midway through his stint in college to work on an off-shore oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico. While working on the rig he read a lot of literature, but on land he developed a love of film through...
's Waking Life
Waking Life
Waking Life is an American animated film , directed by Richard Linklater and released in 2001. The entire film was shot using digital video and then a team of artists using computers drew stylized lines and colors over each frame.The film focuses on the nature of dreams, consciousness, and...
, and Registered Sex Offender. In September 2009, Zahedi had a role in the small film Unlimited Dreamtime - A 2 Week Film.
Zahedi is a professor of confessional cinema at the European Graduate School
European Graduate School
The European Graduate School in Saas-Fee, Switzerland is a privately funded graduate school founded by the non-profit European Foundation of Interdisciplinary Studies. Its German name is Europäische Universität für Interdisziplinäre Studien...
in Saas-Fee
Saas-Fee
Saas-Fee is the main village in the Saastal, or the Saas Valley, and is a municipality in the district of Visp in the canton of Valais in Switzerland...
, Switzerland and he teaches film classes at The New School
The New School
The New School is a university in New York City, located mostly in Greenwich Village. From its founding in 1919 by progressive New York academics, and for most of its history, the university was known as the New School for Social Research. Between 1997 and 2005 it was known as New School University...
in New York.
Awards
- 2005 Guggenheim FellowshipGuggenheim FellowshipGuggenheim Fellowships are American grants that have been awarded annually since 1925 by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts." Each year, the foundation makes...
- 2005 Gotham AwardsGotham AwardsThe Gotham Awards is an annual ceremony of awards presented to the makers of independent films which takes place in New York City...
"Best Film Not Playing in a Theater Near You" - 2008 Rome PrizeRome PrizeThe Rome Prize is an American award made annually by the American Academy in Rome, through a national competition, to 15 emerging artists and to 15 scholars The Rome Prize is an American award made annually by the American Academy in Rome, through a national competition, to 15 emerging artists...
External links
- Official site
- Caveh Zahedi Faculty Page at European Graduate SchoolEuropean Graduate SchoolThe European Graduate School in Saas-Fee, Switzerland is a privately funded graduate school founded by the non-profit European Foundation of Interdisciplinary Studies. Its German name is Europäische Universität für Interdisziplinäre Studien...
. (Biography, bibliography and video lectures)