roya zara rastegar

roya zara rastegarroya zara rastegarroya zara rastegar
About
Film & TV
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Writing & Research
Press

roya zara rastegar

roya zara rastegarroya zara rastegarroya zara rastegar
About
Film & TV
Programming
Writing & Research
Press
More
  • About
  • Film & TV
  • Programming
  • Writing & Research
  • Press

  • About
  • Film & TV
  • Programming
  • Writing & Research
  • Press

SCHOLARLY RESEARCH

SEEING DIFFERENTLY: CURATING FILM FESTIVALS

NARRATIVE EVOLVES CINE-LOVE AT THE 2012 SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL

SEEING DIFFERENTLY: CURATING FILM FESTIVALS

"Festivals create and expand taste, cinematic sensibilities, and ways of storytelling as a

way to dynamically make and remake our aesthetic, social, and cultural

values through the stories brought to screen about who we are, where we

came from, and what we want."

PHYSICAL CINEMA AT SUNDANCE'S NEW FRONTIER

NARRATIVE EVOLVES CINE-LOVE AT THE 2012 SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL

SEEING DIFFERENTLY: CURATING FILM FESTIVALS

"Curatorial practices around film, video, and new media technology carry the potential to repossess and radicalize the heart of cinema." The Scholar & Feminist Online

NARRATIVE EVOLVES CINE-LOVE AT THE 2012 SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL

NARRATIVE EVOLVES CINE-LOVE AT THE 2012 SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL

NARRATIVE EVOLVES CINE-LOVE AT THE 2012 SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL

"Festivals are portals that expand the limits of our film culture. Filmmakers of color bring more than film prints with them to festivals; they bring networks and affiliations — of directors, writers, producers, and actors — that literally grow to occupy space in the theaters and thus create contexts for different ways of looking through their very physical presence." 

Camera Obscura

CURATORIAL PRACTICE AND THE EROTICS OF FREEDOM

DIFFERENCE, AESTHETICS, AND THE CURATORIAL CRISIS OF FILM FESTIVALS

NARRATIVE EVOLVES CINE-LOVE AT THE 2012 SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL

In Time Out of Joint: Recall and Evocation in Recent Art, Whitney Museum ISP Exhibition Catalogue. New Haven:

Yale University Press.

DIFFERENCE, AESTHETICS, AND THE CURATORIAL CRISIS OF FILM FESTIVALS

DIFFERENCE, AESTHETICS, AND THE CURATORIAL CRISIS OF FILM FESTIVALS

DIFFERENCE, AESTHETICS, AND THE CURATORIAL CRISIS OF FILM FESTIVALS

 "Festival curatorial practices can challenge exclusionary formations of film culture – and prompt an urgent reconceptualization of to whom it belongs, who lays claim to it, to whom

it speaks and who talks back." 

Screen Journal 

COSMIC DEMONSTRATIONS OF CURATORIAL PRACTICE

DIFFERENCE, AESTHETICS, AND THE CURATORIAL CRISIS OF FILM FESTIVALS

DIFFERENCE, AESTHETICS, AND THE CURATORIAL CRISIS OF FILM FESTIVALS

 Sisters in the Life: 25 Years of Out African American Lesbian Mediamaking (1986 - 2011), Eds. Yvonne Welbon and Alex Juhasz (Duke University Press).

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

THE FUTURE OF DOCUMENTARY: STORY, INDUSTRY & SPECTATORSHIP

THE FUTURE OF DOCUMENTARY: STORY, INDUSTRY & SPECTATORSHIP

THE FUTURE OF DOCUMENTARY: STORY, INDUSTRY & SPECTATORSHIP

Tabitha Jackson articulates the urgent distinction between journalism and documentary, Don Young discusses the emerging “industry of documentary” and its dangers, and Hussain Currimbhoy considers how VR is radically transforming documentary spectatorship.  World Records Journal

THE BIOPOLITICS OF COVID-19

THE FUTURE OF DOCUMENTARY: STORY, INDUSTRY & SPECTATORSHIP

THE FUTURE OF DOCUMENTARY: STORY, INDUSTRY & SPECTATORSHIP

"The virus clarifies our interdependence on each other. My survival depends upon your survival.  We have an opportunity to transform politics and the future of our democracy. Our country deserves leadership that is authentically of the people, by the people — and for the people."  Refinery 29, April 2020

SUNDANCE, THE OSCARS, THE DECLINE OF FILM CRITICISM

THE FUTURE OF DOCUMENTARY: STORY, INDUSTRY & SPECTATORSHIP

SUNDANCE, THE OSCARS, THE DECLINE OF FILM CRITICISM

"What happens to our film culture when so many film critics grossly misread the cinematic choices and approaches of female directors?" The Nation

THE LIMITS OF RACIAL EQUITY AT THE ACADEMY AWARDS

AUTHENTICITY, BIOGRAPHY AND RACE: A CRITIQUE OF THE FILM FESTIVAL CIRCUIT

SUNDANCE, THE OSCARS, THE DECLINE OF FILM CRITICISM

"Is the Academy so overcome by the limitations of its own perspective that it has become blind to th

"Is the Academy so overcome by the limitations of its own perspective that it has become blind to the craft manifest in other kinds of storytelling?" 

Feminist Wire

THE CURATORIAL CRISIS OF FILM FESTIVALS

AUTHENTICITY, BIOGRAPHY AND RACE: A CRITIQUE OF THE FILM FESTIVAL CIRCUIT

AUTHENTICITY, BIOGRAPHY AND RACE: A CRITIQUE OF THE FILM FESTIVAL CIRCUIT

"From their beginnings in Europe as showcases for national cinemas between the world wars to their global proliferation over the past 30 years, film festivals have played a significant role in actively defining, shaping, and bringing together communities."

AUTHENTICITY, BIOGRAPHY AND RACE: A CRITIQUE OF THE FILM FESTIVAL CIRCUIT

AUTHENTICITY, BIOGRAPHY AND RACE: A CRITIQUE OF THE FILM FESTIVAL CIRCUIT

AUTHENTICITY, BIOGRAPHY AND RACE: A CRITIQUE OF THE FILM FESTIVAL CIRCUIT

Reviews of The Stuart Hall Project, dir. John Akomfrah, American Revolutionary, dir. Grace Lee, and Brothers Hypnotic, dir. Reuben Atlas  "These documentaries challenge conventions of biography and expectations of authenticity in order to create more expansive contexts for how the lives of people of color are read on-screen." 

American Quarterly

POWER DISRUPTED: A CASE FOR 'BIRTH OF A NATION'

WHITENESS AS PROPERTY: HOW TRUMP BECAME THE REPUBLICAN PARTY'HERO

WHITENESS AS PROPERTY: HOW TRUMP BECAME THE REPUBLICAN PARTY'HERO

"The greatest cultural dilemma of our time is how to train American society to unlearn a fear of Black people that has been cultivated and evolved through cinematic storytelling." NBC Black

WHITENESS AS PROPERTY: HOW TRUMP BECAME THE REPUBLICAN PARTY'HERO

WHITENESS AS PROPERTY: HOW TRUMP BECAME THE REPUBLICAN PARTY'HERO

WHITENESS AS PROPERTY: HOW TRUMP BECAME THE REPUBLICAN PARTY'HERO

"Whiteness is not a privilege, it is a birthright, an entitlement. And it needed a hero...Being Republican has become an aspirational brand." 

The Huffington Post

FILM / THEATER REVIEWS

THE POWER OF PERSUASION: REVIEW OF 'THE GREAT HACK'

REVIEW OF 'MIDDLE OF NOWHERE' AND THE BLACK INDIE FILM MOVEMENT

REVIEW OF '12 YEARS A SLAVE': A PORTRAIT OF WHITE PATHOLOGY

"Technology made us a false promise. We were promised a feeling of connection. But Facebook and Instagram are deliberately designed to fail. We obsessively check our feeds precisely because our online interactions — the likes and the hearts and the comments — never satiate our desire for connection."  Medium

REVIEW OF '12 YEARS A SLAVE': A PORTRAIT OF WHITE PATHOLOGY

REVIEW OF 'MIDDLE OF NOWHERE' AND THE BLACK INDIE FILM MOVEMENT

REVIEW OF '12 YEARS A SLAVE': A PORTRAIT OF WHITE PATHOLOGY

“12 Years” is a portrait of racism as pathology. Racism is not about right or wrong, it cannot be turned on and off. Pathology seizes the body, infects the way we see, and bleeds into the ways we experience the world." 

IndieWire

REVIEW OF 'MIDDLE OF NOWHERE' AND THE BLACK INDIE FILM MOVEMENT

REVIEW OF 'MIDDLE OF NOWHERE' AND THE BLACK INDIE FILM MOVEMENT

REVIEW OF 'CIRCUMSTANCE' AND DANGEROUS DEMANDS FOR TRUTH IN FICTION FILMS

"Today’s Black independent film movement reminds us of the political possibilities of cinema, when w

"Today’s Black independent film  movement reminds us of the political possibilities of cinema, even today, when we are bombarded by damaging media at every turn." 

The Huffington Post

REVIEW OF 'CIRCUMSTANCE' AND DANGEROUS DEMANDS FOR TRUTH IN FICTION FILMS

REVIEW OF 'CIRCUMSTANCE' AND DANGEROUS DEMANDS FOR TRUTH IN FICTION FILMS

REVIEW OF 'CIRCUMSTANCE' AND DANGEROUS DEMANDS FOR TRUTH IN FICTION FILMS

"As the apotheosis of the Iranian diasporic imagination, CIRCUMSTANCE is more likely to reveal the desires and personal truths of its creator, cast, and crew than to expose dark secrets of the Orient for the pleasure of Western viewers." 

The Huffington Post

REVIEW OF 'SLEEP DEALER' AND 'HALF-LIFE': SCI-FI HEROS TAKE ON THE SYSTEM

REVIEW OF 'CIRCUMSTANCE' AND DANGEROUS DEMANDS FOR TRUTH IN FICTION FILMS

REVIEW OF 'SLEEP DEALER' AND 'HALF-LIFE': SCI-FI HEROS TAKE ON THE SYSTEM

"Science fiction films aren't all starring white heroes obsessed with an all-powerful conquest to stamp out invading forces threatening the glory of Western civilization."  

ColorLines

REVIEW OF JUSTIN BOND AND THE HOUSE OF WHIMSY

REVIEW OF 'CIRCUMSTANCE' AND DANGEROUS DEMANDS FOR TRUTH IN FICTION FILMS

REVIEW OF 'SLEEP DEALER' AND 'HALF-LIFE': SCI-FI HEROS TAKE ON THE SYSTEM

"The catastrophe of misogyny is foremost the loss of our collective sense of humanity - our ability to see ourselves reflected in each other." The Huffington Post 

INTERVIEWS WITH STORYTELLERS

The Funny Politics of Faith and Change: An Interview With Cherien Dabis

The Funny Politics of Faith and Change: An Interview With Cherien Dabis

The Funny Politics of Faith and Change: An Interview With Cherien Dabis

"For the protagonist, Palestine is an idea, an intellectual idea. She longs for it but can’t really grasp it. She feels useless in the face of it. I wanted to explore that diasporic guilt."      -The Huffington Post

Tired of that Sad Fiddle: An Interview with Desiree Akhavan

The Funny Politics of Faith and Change: An Interview With Cherien Dabis

The Funny Politics of Faith and Change: An Interview With Cherien Dabis

"My Iranian-ness affects my personality, my values are shaped by my family, and my sense of humor is shaped by experiencing life as me." -DA , Film Independent 

Comedy that Provokes and Transforms

Top Programmers Share the Secrets to Getting Into the Festivals of Your Dreams

Top Programmers Share the Secrets to Getting Into the Festivals of Your Dreams

Interview with Adelina Anthony

Top Programmers Share the Secrets to Getting Into the Festivals of Your Dreams

Top Programmers Share the Secrets to Getting Into the Festivals of Your Dreams

Top Programmers Share the Secrets to Getting Into the Festivals of Your Dreams

"Dear moviemakers, I want you to know this: I love you. Or at least, I really want to love you. I know that’s forward, but it’s why I spend months of my life locked in a room, watching hundreds of your films." -MovieMaker

Copyright © 2020 royarastegar - All Rights Reserved.     

Images are from the 2015-2017 LA Film Festival posters. Starry night is a detail from Noah Davis's artwork, face in the moon is a detail from Yoskay Yamamoto artwork, Lady with camera is a detail from Carolyn Castaño's artwork. Art work for the Perpetratin' Realism film series poster is by Adrian Armstrong.