2025 Annual Report
2025 Annual Report
Table of Contents
Table of
Contents
A message from ouR founders
Dear Nimruz Community,
We started Nimruz because our culture brings us closer together as a community and to our vast, diverse, and beautiful heritage. A strong community is one that is pluralistic, inclusive, and grounded in mutual respect. We see our work as tending to a shared garden: one that reflects the richness of who we are, and requires care, patience, and intention to truly flourish.
This past year has been devastating for Iranians around the world– between the immense cruelty of a brutal dictatorship in Iran and multiple wars. In moments like these, it is easy to wonder—how important is cultural work in such dark times? The answer: it is essential. Through arts and culture, we continue to work toward a future where we respect one another, engage across differences, and recognize that our strength lies in our togetherness.
As we reflect on the year behind us and the projects we’ve had the honor to help bring to life, we are met with a renewed sense of purpose. This work—of nurturing, of cultivating, of creating space for growth and connection—is more important than ever.
Thank you for being on this journey with us.
- Sepanta Mohseni & Rostam Zafari
A message from ouR founders
Dear Nimruz Community,
We started Nimruz because our culture brings us closer together as a community and to our vast, diverse, and beautiful heritage. A strong community is one that is pluralistic, inclusive, and grounded in mutual respect. We see our work as tending to a shared garden: one that reflects the richness of who we are, and requires care, patience, and intention to truly flourish.
This past year has been devastating for Iranians around the world– between the immense cruelty of a brutal dictatorship in Iran and multiple wars. In moments like these, it is easy to wonder—how important is cultural work in such dark times? The answer: it is essential. Through arts and culture, we continue to work toward a future where we respect one another, engage across differences, and recognize that our strength lies in our togetherness.
As we reflect on the year behind us and the projects we’ve had the honor to help bring to life, we are met with a renewed sense of purpose. This work—of nurturing, of cultivating, of creating space for growth and connection—is more important than ever.
Thank you for being on this journey with us.
- Sepanta Mohseni & Rostam Zafari
A message from ouR founders
Dear Nimruz Community,
We started Nimruz because our culture brings us closer together as a community and to our vast, diverse, and beautiful heritage. A strong community is one that is pluralistic, inclusive, and grounded in mutual respect. We see our work as tending to a shared garden: one that reflects the richness of who we are, and requires care, patience, and intention to truly flourish.
This past year has been devastating for Iranians around the world– between the immense cruelty of a brutal dictatorship in Iran and multiple wars. In moments like these, it is easy to wonder—how important is cultural work in such dark times? The answer: it is essential. Through arts and culture, we continue to work toward a future where we respect one another, engage across differences, and recognize that our strength lies in our togetherness.
As we reflect on the year behind us and the projects we’ve had the honor to help bring to life, we are met with a renewed sense of purpose. This work—of nurturing, of cultivating, of creating space for growth and connection—is more important than ever.
Thank you for being on this journey with us.
- Sepanta Mohseni & Rostam Zafari
brand sizzle
Our mission
Nimruz exists to cultivate Iranian culture in a way that deepens our connection with ourselves, our families, and each other.
Nimruz exists to cultivate Iranian culture in a way that deepens our connection with ourselves, our families, and each other.
Nimruz exists to cultivate Iranian culture in a way that deepens our connection with ourselves, our families, and each other.
YEAR IN REVIEW
Original Cultural
Programming
Original Cultural
Programming
Each year we develop and fund original projects that restore our connection to our culture, foster understanding, and allow us to imagine our collective future. Below are a few projects from the last year.
Each year we develop and fund original projects that restore our connection to our culture, foster understanding, and allow us to imagine our collective future. Below are a few projects from the last year.
Animated Short
Traveler of the Horizon
Animated Short
Traveler of the Horizon
The story follows a lonely man carrying a heavy wooden box across a vast desert, heading toward an unknown destination. Along the way, many people pass him by, but with hope and perseverance, he continues on his path.
Traveler of the Horizon premiered at the prestigious Annecy International Animation Film Festival and went on to screen at other international festivals.
About
Animated Short
Traveler of the Horizon
Learn More
Feature Film
Honeyjoon
Feature Film
Honeyjoon
Persian-Kurdish Lela and her sensual American daughter June take a trip to the romantic Azores after their major loss -- with opposite ideas about why they're there, how to grieve, and June's tiny bikini. Between honeymooners, Woman Life Freedom, and their hot philosophical-surfer tour guide João, they find each other... coming back to life.
Honeyjoon premiered at Tribeca after winning the Tribeca AT&T Untold Stories Award, and went on to win awards at dozens of festivals.
About
Feature Film
Honeyjoon
Learn More
Short Film
One Day This Kid
Short Film
One Day This Kid
A young Afghan-Canadian boy growing up in a society that does not want him. Inspired by David Wojnarowicz’s 1990 photo collage “Untitled (One Day This Kid),” the film captures the very familiar moments of wonder, questioning and frustration that have been imprinted on the lives of many queer people today.
One Day This Kid premiered at Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), being awarded the prestigious “Canada’s Top Ten” award, and won the Grand Jury Prize for Best Narrative Short at SXSW, qualifying for the Academy Awards longlist.
About
Short Film
One Day This Kid
Learn More
YEAR IN REVIEW
Art Grants &
Artist Development
Art Grants &
Artist Development
Last year we launched our Unseen Iran Artist Grants program in partnership with Waterwell. These grants serve to empower artists and storytellers in our community in creating new works that explore identity, connection, and cultural healing. Check out the 5 grant winners for our inaugural cycle, out of almost 500 submissions.
Last year we launched our Unseen Iran Artist Grants program in partnership with Waterwell. These grants serve to empower artists and storytellers in our community in creating new works that explore identity, connection, and cultural healing. Check out the 5 grant winners for our inaugural cycle, out of almost 500 submissions.
Narrative Short
Priscillia Kounkou Hoveyda
Narrative Short
Priscillia Kounkou Hoveyda
Learn More
Narrative Short
Kiarash Dadgar
Narrative Short
Kiarash Dadgar
Learn More
Feature Documentary
Mo Gorjestani
Feature Documentary
Mo Gorjestani
Learn More
Feature Documentary
Mo Gorjestani
Learn More
Narrative Short
Mozhan Navabi
Learn More
Musical
Abdi Nazemian & Arian Saleh
Learn More
Musical
Abdi Nazemian & Arian Saleh
Learn More
Narrative Short
Mozhan Navabi
Narrative Short
Mozhan Navabi
Learn More
Musical
Abdi Nazemian & Arian Saleh
Musical
Abdi Nazemian & Arian Saleh
Learn More
Narrative Short
Priscillia Kounkou Hoveyda
Learn More
Narrative Short
Kiarash Dadgar
Learn More
YEAR IN REVIEW
Cultural Education
& Community Impact
Cultural Education
& Community Impact
Through festivals, community events, and cultural spotlights, we are building a confident and connected diaspora rooted in its heritage and eager to share it with others. These bridges exist to bring our community closer together and connect the Iranian community to the world at large.
Through festivals, community events, and cultural spotlights, we are building a confident and connected diaspora rooted in its heritage and eager to share it with others. These bridges exist to bring our community closer together and connect the Iranian community to the world at large.
Unseen Iran Festival 2025
In partnership with Waterwell and Pardis for Children, the Unseen Iran Festival created a community and cultural oasis in New York City for 3 weeks. In January 2025, the beautiful and historic St. Ann's lobby was transformed into a gateway to a largely "Unseen Iran". This included a Persian Tea Room, featuring Persian tea, rugs, and art from prominent Iranian artists such as Shirin Neshat. Programming included live music, food tastings, a backgammon tournament, and much more.
Unseen Iran Festival 2025
In partnership with Waterwell and Pardis for Children, the Unseen Iran Festival created a community and cultural oasis in New York City for 3 weeks. In January 2025, the beautiful and historic St. Ann's lobby was transformed into a gateway to a largely "Unseen Iran". This included a Persian Tea Room, featuring Persian tea, rugs, and art from prominent Iranian artists such as Shirin Neshat. Programming included live music, food tastings, a backgammon tournament, and much more.
Unseen Iran Festival 2025
In partnership with Waterwell and Pardis for Children, the Unseen Iran Festival created a community and cultural oasis in New York City for 3 weeks. In January 2025, the beautiful and historic St. Ann's lobby was transformed into a gateway to a largely "Unseen Iran". This included a Persian Tea Room, featuring Persian tea, rugs, and art from prominent Iranian artists such as Shirin Neshat. Programming included live music, food tastings, a backgammon tournament, and much more.
Community Events
Over the last year, we held several in-person events to celebrate the successes of our artists and bring our community together during challenging times.
Community Events
Over the last year, we held several in-person events to celebrate the successes of our artists and bring our community together during challenging times.
What's Next
Original Cultural
Programming
Original Cultural
Programming
Looking ahead to some of the exciting original cultural programming we're looking forward to sharing with you all soon.
Looking ahead to some of the exciting original cultural programming we're looking forward to sharing with you all soon.
Animated Series
Women of Iran
Animated Series
Women of Iran
In partnership with Offscreen Limited, Nimruz is producing an animated series showcasing groundbreaking women from Iran. It shares the stories of 7 women from the late Qajar to early Pahlavi era who advanced women’s rights, often at great personal risk.
Each 5–6 minute video highlights one extraordinary woman—from artists and educators to advocates and public servants—and their struggle to create lasting change. The series challenges misperceptions about Iranian and Middle Eastern women and traces their legacy to women’s movements today. Available in English and Persian.
Featuring Qamar ol-Moluk, Bibi Khanom Astarabadi, and Parvin Etesami.
About
Animated Series
Women of Iran
Learn More
Feature Animation Film
Rainy Dreams
Feature Animation Film
Rainy Dreams
Rainy Dreams is a feature animation film exploring the hopes and fears of five displaced children in Calais, through the dreams they have at night.
The film is written and directed by Alireza Ghasemi, a Paris-based, Iranian-born filmmaker. He won the Best Directing Award at Sundance Film Festival in 2024 for his film In the Land of Brothers, and has had numerous award-winning works screened at major international festivals, including Cannes.
About
Feature Animation Film
Rainy Dreams
Learn More
Short Film
Day of Fire
Short Film
Day of Fire
Day of Fire explores the emotional conflicts that emerge when a partner becomes a caretaker. Set against the backdrop of the Iranian New Year, in a desert that becomes a recreation of a once- remembered Iran, the film considers how the past, present, and future tangle together in the face of grief.
This film is written and directed by Sara Boutorabi, an Iranian-American filmmaker with a dual degree in Rhetoric and Film from UC Berkeley and MFA from Columbia University. Her directorial debut, Bita Joon, premiered at the Palm Springs International ShortFest, earning the Best US Student Short Special Mention and winning Best Short Narrative at the Slamdance Film Festival. She is currently developing her debut feature.
About
Short Film
Day of Fire
Learn More
Looking forward
Each Year We Plan To..
10+
Artists &
Projects
Funded
15+
Podcast
Episodes
10+
Artists supported
through the annual
Cinédel Labs
3+
Projects
internally
developed
4+
Cultural
Gatherings
& Festivals
20+
Short Films
& Filmmakers
spotlighted
4+
Book Club
Sessions
1
Nimruz
Summit
Looking forward
Each Year We Plan To..
10+
Artists &
Projects
Funded
15+
Podcast
Episodes
10+
Artists supported
through the annual
Cinédel Labs
3+
Projects
internally
developed
4+
Cultural
Gatherings
& Festivals
20+
Short Films
& Filmmakers
spotlighted
4+
Book Club
Sessions
1
Nimruz
Summit
What's Next
Art Grants &
Artist Development
Art Grants &
Artist Development
Over the next year, we're excited to build on the success of our Unseen Iran Artist Grants, as well as launch a new and exciting film lab in partnership with Cinédel.
Over the next year, we're excited to build on the success of our Unseen Iran Artist Grants, as well as launch a new and exciting film lab in partnership with Cinédel.
Program
Unseen Iran Artist Grants
Program
Unseen Iran Artist Grants
Unseen Iran Artist Grants 2026
Building on the success of our inaugural year of Unseen Iran Artist Grants and the overwhelming response from artists in the Iranian diaspora, we are once again partnering with Waterwell to expand this program. The program will provide grants, project mentorship, and community access to artists across mediums including film, theater, fine arts, and beyond.
About
Program
Unseen Iran Artist Grants
Learn More
Partnership
Cinédel Labs
Partnership
Cinédel Labs
Nimruz Partners with Cinédel Labs
We are excited to launch our partnership with Cinédel Labs in launching the first intensive film lab for filmmakers of Iranian descent. Our 2026 pilot lab empowers Iranian-American filmmakers developing feature fiction projects.
This one-week lab willl provide pitch practice, feedback, and private sessions with guest speakers across the film industry, as well as providing an opportunity for community building and post-lab mentorship for ongoing growth.
About
Partnership
Cinédel Labs
Learn More
What's Next
Cultural Education
& Community Impact
Cultural Education
& Community Impact
Over the next year, we're expanding our community impact programming through an original podcast, our Short Film Club, and in-person gatherings.
Over the next year, we're expanding our community impact programming through an original podcast, our Short Film Club, and in-person gatherings.
coming soon
Nimruz Podcast
coming soon
Nimruz Podcast
An original podcast showcasing long-form conversations with Iranian artists and cultural figures. This podcast will create a hub to engage in nuanced discussion about what it means to be Iranian, and the power of art to foster communitiy and build solidarity. Through one-on-one conversations with a diverse range of guests, the podcast will spotlight various viewpoints as we highlight the plurality that lies at the center of our vision.
About
coming soon
Nimruz Podcast
Learn More
Coming Soon
Short Film Club
Coming Soon
Short Film Club
The Nimruz Short Film Club will spotlight Iranian filmmakers from around the world and their captivating works exploring Iranian identity and beyond. Through the Nimruz Youtube channel, we will amplify these films, while giving the filmmakers a platform to speak directly with audiences regarding their thought process, challenges, and hopes for their films.
About
Coming Soon
Short Film Club
Learn More
Coming Soon
Damask Rose: A Gathering
Coming Soon
Damask Rose: A Gathering
"Damask Rose: A Gathering" by Bahar Behbahani is a springtime intervention and festival rooted in diasporic ways of living, remembering, and caring. Inspired by Persian gardens, the project takes the Damask rose as both material presence and guiding metaphor, weaving together diasporic ecological and ancestral knowledge through acts of cultivation and gathering.
In partnership with the Governors Island Foundation and community organizations, we are working with Bahar Behbahani to bring this festival to life.
About
Coming Soon
Damask Rose: A Gathering
Learn More
Looking forward
Each Year We Plan To..
10+
Artists &
Projects
Funded
15+
Podcast
Episodes
10+
Artists supported
through the annual
Cinédel Labs
3+
Projects
internally
developed
4+
Cultural
Gatherings
& Festivals
20+
Short Films
& Filmmakers
spotlighted
4+
Book Club
Sessions
1
Nimruz
Summit
Looking forward
Each Year We Plan To..
10+
Artists &
Projects
Funded
15+
Podcast
Episodes
10+
Artists supported
through the annual
Cinédel Labs
3+
Projects
internally
developed
4+
Cultural
Gatherings
& Festivals
20+
Short Films
& Filmmakers
spotlighted
4+
Book Club
Sessions
1
Nimruz
Summit
Who we are
Our Team
Rostam Zafari
Co-founder, Board Chair
Azadeh Vatanpour
Director of Education
Sepanta Mohseni
co-founder, Exec. Director
Amanda Etemad
Digital Strategist
Lilly Heidari
Grant Manager
Our Advisors
Sanam Akhlagh
founder and Executive Director of Pardis for Children
Arian Moayed
actor, screenwriter,
& director
Nasim Pedrad
actress, comedian, producer, writer, &
voice actor
Amir Tehrani
Co-founder & co-ceo of Our place
Leili Zohrenejad
Investor philanthropist, entrepreneur
Who we are
Our Team
Rostam Zafari
Co-founder, Board Chair
Azadeh Vatanpour
Director of Education
Sepanta Mohseni
co-founder, Exec. Director
Amanda Etemad
Digital Strategist
Lilly Heidari
Grant Manager
Our Advisors
Sanam Akhlagh
founder and Executive Director of Pardis for Children
Arian Moayed
actor, screenwriter,
& director
Nasim Pedrad
actress, comedian, producer, writer, &
voice actor
Amir Tehrani
Co-founder & co-ceo of Our place
Leili Zohrenejad
Investor philanthropist, entrepreneur
Who we are
Our Team
Rostam Zafari
Co-founder, Board Chair
Azadeh Vatanpour
Director of Education
Sepanta Mohseni
co-founder, Exec. Director
Amanda Etemad
Digital Strategist
Lilly Heidari
Grant Manager
Our Advisors
Sanam Akhlagh
founder and Executive Director of Pardis for Children
Arian Moayed
actor, screenwriter,
& director
Nasim Pedrad
actress, comedian, producer, writer, &
voice actor
Amir Tehrani
Co-founder & co-ceo of Our place
Leili Zohrenejad
Investor philanthropist, entrepreneur
Keep the
Sun Rising
Your support helps Nimruz bring bold ideas and vibrant visions to life. Every contribution keeps the vision growing and the work reaching more people.
Donate Now
Keep the
Sun Rising
Your support helps Nimruz bring bold ideas and vibrant visions to life. Every contribution keeps the vision growing and the work reaching more people.
Donate Now
Keep the
Sun Rising
Your support helps Nimruz bring bold ideas and vibrant visions to life. Every contribution keeps the vision growing and the work reaching more people.
Donate Now