I am
Ghazaleh Soltani

I was born in Tehran, and from a very young age, I knew I wanted to become a filmmaker. It all began when I saw a TV teaser for a film starring Ezzatollah Entezami — one of the greatest actors in Iranian cinema. As a young girl, I became his devoted fan, and through him, I discovered the magic of cinema. I didn’t yet understand the language of film, but something in his presence on screen spoke to me deeply. The spell had been cast.

Years later, at the age of twenty-five, I directed a documentary about his life — a film that felt like returning to the very moment my dream had begun. A few years after that, I also wrote a book about him — another way of paying tribute to the person who had inspired my path.

Since then, I have made several short films, documentaries, and a feature film — and cinema continues to enchant me. For me, filmmaking is more than a profession; it is a way of listening — to the world, to the unheard, to the silences that ask to be turned into stories.

I studied Textile Design and Cinema in Tehran and later continued my film education in Vancouver. I’m now based in Paris, and I run a production company called Gazelle Arts & Productions, devoted to creating socially engaged, artistically driven work.

Today, I tell stories shaped by human concerns — about the people of my homeland, and about people everywhere, whose voices have been lost in the noise. I believe their silences deserve to be heard. And cinema, for me, is the language that makes that possible.