Gulistan Mirzaei is a director of nonfiction cinema. Born in Afghanistan, he later grew up as a refugee in Iran. He was the assistant to the late Faheem Dashty, Editor in Chief of Kabul Weekly. Gulistan was mentored by award-winning director Siddiq Barmak (OSAMA). His first feature film, LAILA AT THE BRIDGE, received the IDFA Bertha Fund and Gucci-Tribeca Documentary Fund, and picked up awards at numerous festivals including CPH:DOX, Bergen, and Santa Barbara. His first short film from Afghanistan, THREE SONGS FOR BENAZIR, won multiple awards including Best Short at Full Frame and the Award of Excellence at the Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival. A recent immigrant to the United States, Gulistan’s family is still in Afghanistan.
Elizabeth Mirzaei is a director and cinematographer of nonfiction films. Her first film LAILA AT THE BRIDGE, co-directed with Gulistan Mirzaei, screened at dozens of festivals, including Locarno and Edinburgh. Elizabeth lived in Afghanistan for over eight years. She is a Film Independent Fellow and a Moving Picture Institute Cinematography Fellow. Her cinematography has been featured in films that have screened at Venice and Toronto Film Festivals, among others. Her short film THREE SONGS FOR BENAZIR (co-directed with Gulistan) is currently in festivals and has won several jury awards. Elizabeth lives in California with Gulistan and their two daughters.
