Tara Aghdashloo is a writer, director and poet born in Iran. She is a published author who has worked as a print and broadcast journalist covering international current affairs, arts and culture before transitioning to film. In 2020 she completed a masterclass by renowned filmmaker Mohsen Makhmalbaf, who remains her mentor. Since then, her short films have been commissioned and funded by BFI Network, Canada Council of the Arts, BBC, Ontario Arts Council, and Toronto Arts Council, among others, and have competed at film festivals globally. Tara’s debut narrative feature is a United Kingdom-Canada co-production in development with Caspian Films and supported by Telefilm Canada and Ontario Creates.

Woman Reclines on a Sofa — An Afghan asylum seeker dreaming of becoming an artist works illegally at the back of a dry cleaners. After she’s forced to work from home, her already precarious situation is further complicated when she takes on a side job.