Sara Zia Ebrahimi

Sara Zia is a filmmaker and film curator dedicated to blurring the line between artist and activist.  Through her work, she explores issues of displacement and the experiences of first generation immigrants in innovative ways. Sara Zia poses questions that don’t often get asked, pushing audiences to be active media consumers rather than passive spectators. As a curator, Sara Zia aims to build community and offer space for dialogue and learning. For Sara Zia, who she chooses to work with is not just about the individual, but also about accountability to the community.  She has hosted screenings programmed by women, people of color, and LGBT people to challenge the dominant tendency of film festivals and independent film venues. 

Sara Zia’s project, The FBI Blew Up My Ice Skates, is a short collage animation film. Based on a true story, the film tells a story from the Iran Hostage Crisis in 1980 from the perspective of a young girl. The project raises questions about the human cost of surveillance and the criminalization of immigrant communities, linking past policy decisions with current national discussions, reframing the dominant mindset on "security."

Sara is an Iranian-American filmmaker and community activist. She uses storytelling through filmmaking as a means of community building in her neighborhood by running a weekly film screening series called The Flickering Light (TFL). The Flickering Light offers an opportunity to filmmakers from around the world to exhibit their work to local audiences year round, particularly to those whose work is marginalized even in independent film circles. The series is also building community by reviving an empty unused building and adding to the cultural opportunities in her neighborhood.