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Talkhouse

Gulistan Mirzaei and Elizabeth Mirzaei are the directors and producers of the short film Three Songs for Benazir, which won jury awards at several Oscar®-qualifying festivals including Full Frame, Yamagata, and Odense, was shortlisted for the Cinema Eye Honors and is now streaming on Netflix. Gulistan is a director from Afghanistan who spent part of his life as a refugee in Iran before returning to Kabul in 2001. He assisted the late Faheem Dashty, editor-in-chief of Kabul Weekly, the first independent newspaper to be published in Kabul after the departure of the Taliban, and was mentored by award-winning director Siddiq Barmak (Osama). Elizabeth is a director and cinematographer of nonfiction films whose work has been featured in films thats screened at Venice and Toronto Film Festivals, among others. She is a Film Independent Fellow, a Moving Picture Institute Cinematography Fellow, and a Sundance Co//ab Advisor. Elizabeth and Gulistan’s first feature, Laila at the Bridge, won awards at numerous festivals including CPH:DOX, Bergen, and Santa Barbara and had a theatrical run in the UK at Bertha DocHouse. Elizabeth and Gulistan now live in California with their two daughters.

Gulistan Mirzaei and Elizabeth Mirzaei

Film

In Afghanistan, Love Blossoms Against Violence

Gulistan Mirzaei