Parisa Barani is an award-winning Iranian Canadian film director. Born and raised in Tehran, she immigrated to Vancouver at the age of 16, and eventually settled in Los Angeles.

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Barani is a Directing fellow of 2024 NBCUniversal LAUNCH TV Directors Program (Directing Law & Order in 2025), WBD Access x Canadian Academy Directors Program talent roster, and Ryan Murphy's Half Initiative (mentored by producing director Bradley Buecker).  She was part of Netflix’s 2023 TV Episodic “Directors on the Rise”. She was also a participant of  WBD Access Directors Program and ViacomCBS Emerging Directors Program, Universal Directors Initiative and Creative Capital’s On Our Radar and a recipient of Tribeca Film Institute Sloan Grant. She has been a semi-finalist for Sundance Screenwriters Lab.

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Barani is slated to direct the upcoming features HARAM and HAJI and is in development for her television pilot called DUTY STATION. Her film HUMAN TERRAIN, stars Maggie Siff and Sarita Choudhury. Her works have screened at festivals worldwide, including SCAD Savannah Film Festival, Geena Davis’ Bentonville Film Festival, Mill Valley Film Festival, Palm Springs ShortFest, Outfest and Diversity in Cannes Short Showcase.​​ Her shadowing experience includes Law & Order, FBI: Most Wanted, 9-1-1: Lone Star and Allegiance.

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In addition to filmmaking, Barani has curated and spoken on panels at SXSW, San Francisco State University, programmer at Outfest LGBTIQA+ Film Festival and a guest curator at OutMuseum. She is graduate of AFI’s Directing Workshop for Women. She is fluent in English and Farsi. https://vimeo.com/557567297