Desiree Akhavan
Desiree Akhavan | |
---|---|
Born |
1984 New York |
Nationality | American |
Occupation | filmmaker, screenwriter, actor |
Known for | Appropriate Behavior |
Desiree Akhavan (1984)[1] is an Iranian-American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor located in New York. She is best known for her 2014 feature film debut Appropriate Behavior.[2][3]
Biography
Early life
Born and raised in upstate New York to Iranian immigrant parents who left the country following the Iranian Revolution in 1980 and now identify as American [2][4] As a child Akhavan grew up learning about American culture through watching TV shows and movies [4] During childhood she often felt left out despite having a strong sense of humour [5][6] She began writing plays when she was 10 years old and began acting in plays at 13 years old [5][7] Akhavan went to a Bronx prep school and had a tough time as a teenager for being considered weird and was often ignored by her peers [5][4] She continued to write plays as a teenager [6] When she was young Akhavan wanted to work in theatre but later changed to studying film because it gave her more control over her content [8]
Education
Akhavan studied film and theatre at Smith College, the prestigious all-women’s college in Massachusetts, where she was a bit of a loner.[9] At 22 she studied film directing at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts and spent a year studying abroad at Queen Mary, University of London.[2][7][10]
Akhavan identifies herself as a bisexual woman.[9] After coming out to her parents at age 24 they had a hard time adjusting to the news for about a year but they now accept her sexuality because of the work she has done [5][4] Her films often have scenes filmed at her parent’s house and they contributed by feeding the cast and crew [6] Her family is very supportive of her. Akhavan has acted, directed, and written several pieces over the past few years as listed below.[6]
Work
Akhavan made her first short film Two Drink Minimum while studying in London.[11]
In 2010 Akhavan wrote and directed the short film Nose Job, and wrote, directed and acted in the lesbian-themed web series The Slope.[2][12]
Akhavan and Ingrid Jungermann, her creative partner on The Slope, were named to Filmmaker's 25 New Faces of Independent Film in 2012.[13]
She plays a writing student in Season 4 of Girls. The role was offered to her after Lena Dunham and Jenny Konner saw her film Appropriate Behaviour [8]
In 2014 Akhavan’s film Appropriate Behaviour, in which she plays an alternative version of herself, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival [5] The film was inspired by a break up and coming out to her parents but is not autobiographical [4] She wrote Appropriate Behaviour as thesis paper for film studies at New York University [11]
Akhavan is comfortable taking on whatever role is needed of her during a project and does not have a preference between being a writer, director, and actor [5]
She was selected for the Sundance Institute’s Episodic Story Lab for her pilot script Switch Hitter [14]
She has stated she drawn inspiration from people such as Woody Allen, Todd Solondz, and Noah Baumbach.[11]
Filmography
[15]
Year |
Title | Credit |
---|---|---|
2015 | Girls (tv show) | Actor |
2014 | Appropriate Behaviour (movie) | Director/Writer/Actor |
2010 | The Slope (web series) | Director/Writer/Actor |
2010 | Nose Job (short) | Director/Writer |
Awards and Nominations
Akhavan was nominated in the Independant Spirit Awards for best debut script for Appropriate Behaviour [4]
Akhavan's film Appropriate Behaviour won the Grand Jury Award at the San Diego Asian Film Festival [16]
References
- ↑ "Appropriate Behavior’s Desiree Akhavan: Just Your Average Iranian, Bisexual, Mel Brooks-Loving Breakthrough Filmmaker". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 2015-04-27.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 "Sundance: Why Desiree Akhavan Could be the Next Lena Dunham". Variety, January 18, 2014.
- ↑ "Exclusive: Clip From Sundance Film 'Appropriate Behavior,' Writer/Director/Star Desiree Akhavan Talks Sex Scenes & More". Indiewire, January 15, 2014.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 "Desiree Akhavan on Appropriate Behaviour and not being the ‘Iranian bisexual Lena Dunham’". March 5, 2015. Retrieved April 7, 2015.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 "10 Questions for Filmmaker Desiree Akhavan". The Arts Desk. 2015-03-03. Retrieved 2015-04-08.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 "How A Young Iranian Bisexual Filmmaker’s Family Helped Her Get To Sundance". January 22, 2015. Retrieved April 7, 2015.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Desiree Akhavan & Ira Sachs: 'Seeing an out person living the kind of life I wanted made me want to emulate it'". March 8, 2015. Retrieved April 7, 2015.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Appropriate Behaviour director Desiree Akhavan on diversity in film and being an outsider". March 5, 2015. Retrieved April 7, 2015.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 http://www.vanityfair.com/vf-hollywood/2015/01/desiree-akhavan-appropriate-behavior
- ↑ QMUL. "Graduate’s ‘Iranian-American bisexual comedy’ premieres at London Film Festival". QMUL. QMUL. Retrieved 2015-01-12.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 "'I'm not the new Lena Dunham': Desiree Akhavan on her new film Appropriate Behaviour and why she is different from the 'Girls' star". March 6, 2015. Retrieved April 7, 2015.
- ↑ "Meet Sundance breakout Desiree Akhavan, the next Lena Dunham". New York Post, January 20, 2014.
- ↑ "Desiree Akhavan and Ingrid Jungermann | Filmmaker Magazine". 2012. Retrieved 2015-04-27.
- ↑ "SUNDANCE INSTITUTE SELECTS 10 WRITERS FOR INAUGURAL EPISODIC STORY LAB". September 16, 2015. Retrieved April 7, 2015.
- ↑ "Desiree Akhavan". IMDB. Retrieved 2015-04-27.
- ↑ "2014 SDAFF winners announced!". November 9, 2014. Retrieved April 7, 2015.
External links
- Desiree Akhavan at the Internet Movie Database (IMDB)