Azadeh Navai is an Iranian independent filmmaker and editor. As a descendant of Bakhtiari nomads on one side of her family and the Qajar dynasty on the other, she finds inspiration in her own Persian roots. Azadeh’s films are explorations of the people, culture and history of her home country, and have screened internationally, including at New York Film Festival, International Film Festival Rotterdam, Edinburgh International Film Festival, SLAMDANCE, Atlanta Film Festival, FILMADRID and Antimatter. Her most recent film, Rizoo, is the story of an eight-year-old girl about to reach the legal age of wearing hijab in Iran. Azadeh holds an M.F.A. in Film and Video from the California Institute of the Arts and is a grant recipient from arthouse streaming platform Fandor. She is currently working on her debut feature screenplay.

Sheepish — Accepting an invitation to a wealthy Iranian woman’s home, a gay, middle-aged American man soon finds himself caught in an unexpected family drama as he pursues the host’s closeted nephew.