Babak Shokrian, a visionary filmmaker, was born in Tehran, Iran in 1965. His family's relocation to Los Angeles in 1971 marked the beginning of a new chapter in his life. Shokrian's academic pursuits took him to the University of Southern California (USC) and later to the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA),where he earned a degree in Anthropology with a focus on ethnographic film.
Following his graduation, Shokrian further honed his craft by studying theatre at the Victory Theatre under the guidance of the renowned Maria Gobetti. This training laid the foundation for his foray into filmmaking, as he went on to write, produce, and direct his short film, Peaceful Sabbath, which premiered at the 13th annual Jewish Film Festival in San Francisco in 1993.
Peaceful Sabbath, a thought-provoking exploration of conflicting cultures and ethnic identity, served as a precursor to his independent debut feature, America So Beautiful, which was released in 2001. This critically acclaimed film went on to participate in over ten film festivals nationally and internationally, including the IFP/Los Angeles Film Festival in 2001 and the Berlin International Film Festival in 2002, where it was picked up for French distribution in 2003.
Shokrian's continued involvement in the film community led him to become a member of Filmmaker's Alliance, a collective of film artists dedicated to the advancement of true independent film. Through this organization, he produced shorts and feature films for fellow filmmakersifying solid, his reputation as a skilled and dedicated industry professional.
Shokrian's impressive body of work also includes the award-winning feature script, The Apology (No Regret),which was inspired by the life and times of Feraydoon Farokhzad, a legendary showman and political activist in Iran before the Islamic revolution.
