Another Tehran

Sam Ali Kashani was born in New Jersey and grew up in Los Angeles where he attended film school at California State University, Northridge. He received his B.A. in Cinema and Television Arts in 2006 and in 2007, he wrote, directed, and produced his debut documentary “Tehran: Another Side”. Having been born in the USA, Sam had minimal exposure and knowledge with regard to contemporary Iranian society until his first trip to the country in 2007. Walking the streets of Tehran as a young Iranian-American, Sam realized that not only did people in the west have many misconceptions of life in modern-day Iran and the Iranian people, but that there were very few documentaries or sources truly addressing this issue. The result of this realization was a one-hour documentary that exposed “another side” of the city we know so little about in the west, Tehran. Sam brings to the screen faces and stories ignored by the BBC and CNN, freely discussing politics with Iranian college students, taking in the city’s electric night life, and absorbing Tehran’s rich and celebrated history. As of 2011, the film has been screened in countless film festivals and TV stations in the USA, The Netherlands, Iran, and Sweden, and has garnered international acclaim from Iranians and non-Iranians alike.
Sam’s next few projects would focus more on the booming underground culture in Iran, specifically the hip-hop movement taking place among the youth. After releasing a short-documentary on the origin of hip-hop music in Iran entitled “The Current State of Persian Hip-Hop” (which can be seen on YouTube in its entirety), Sam completed production on his most recent film, “BAHRAM An Iranian Rapper”. This film provides a more intimate and profound perspective on the daily life of a young hip-hop artist in Iran, a country where such ‘western’ cultures are completely prohibited. The film will debut at the 4th annual Iranian Film Festival of San Francisco on September 10, 2011 (iranianfilmfestival.org). Currently, Sam is a medical student; however he continues to be active in producing films centered on modern-day Iranian culture.