Marjan Safinia

Marjan Safinia is an Iranian documentary filmmaker whose films examine identity, community, and social justice. Most recently, and together with Grace Lee, she produced and directed AND SHE COULD BE NEXT, a two-part documentary series about women of color transforming American politics from the ground up, which debuted as POV’s first ever series in June 2020 and was nominated for an NAACP Image Award for Best Documentary. Other work includes SEEDS, the story of ten brave teenagers from the world’s most troubled conflict zones living side-by-side for one life-changing summer, and BUT YOU SPEAK SUCH GOOD ENGLISH a humorous short exploring the first-generation immigrant experience from an insider perspective. Her work has been supported by IDA Enterprise Fund, Ford Foundation, MacArthur and Sundance Institutes, Doc Society, and she is also Sundance Catalyst Fellow. Until 2018, Marjan was the longest-serving President of the Board of Directors of the International Documentary Association (and the first woman of color to lead IDA since its founding in 1982.) She currently serves on the Board of Directors of Chicken & Egg Pictures and is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences. Marjan is one of five co-hosts of the longest-running online documentary community, The D-Word, a founding member of Beyond Inclusion, and a regular juror, programmer, speaker and connector of all things documentary.