Sara Zandieh, an Iranian-American filmmaker who grew up in Gaithersburg, has been accepted into NBC’s 2019-2020 class of Female Forward. The program gives opportunities to women directors to increase representation in a male-dominated field.
“It was a life-changing phone call,” Zandieh said about finding out she was selected after a rigorous interview process. “It’s an amazing program because not only do they train you, but they guarantee that you direct an episode.”
The Quince Orchard High School graduate was tapped to shadow production and direct an episode of “Good Girls,” which stars Christina Hendricks from “Mad Men.” “I’ll get to work with such a high caliber of actors,” the L.A.-based director said.
Zandieh’s episode of “Good Girls” will air this spring.
She has done her homework. She’s watched all preceding episodes of the NBC drama. “I was a big fan of the show even before I went into the running for the episode,” Zandieh said.
This is Zandieh’s second time directing for television. In 2015, she directed an episode of MTV’s “Rebel Music.” The documentary series follows artists fighting for freedom of expression in conflict countries.
Zandieh is also a screenwriter. Her feature film, “Simple Wedding,” which she wrote and directed, will debut theatrically on Valentine’s Day.
“I’ve always liked creative writing,” Zandieh said. “I grew up in a family of storytellers.”
Zandieh was born in Iran and immigrated to the U.S. with her family when she was 4. She traces her knack for storytelling to her heritage. “There is a tradition of storytelling in Persian culture,” she said.
Zandieh is the first in her immediate family to pursue a creative career. “I guess I’m a little bit of a black sheep,” Zandieh said. “I went off and did something different from D.C.”
After obtaining an undergraduate degree in communications and French from Hofstra University in New York, Zandieh moved home to work in a newsroom. “I thought I might want to be a journalist,” she said.
Zandieh had a change of heart and applied to Columbia University’s MFA program in film directing, in which she made four short films. “The Pool Party” won an award at the Tribeca Film Festival.
Zandieh went on to receive a a Fulbright Grant for filmmaking, which she used to write and direct her short film “Yabanci” in Turkey.
“Growing up in [D.C.], most people are going to be a lawyer or a journalist,” Zandieh said. “I never thought I could have a career in entertainment.”
Leigh McDonald can be reached at leigh.mcdonald@moco360.media.
