Bita Ghassemi is an award-winning Iranian-American writer and director from Austin, Texas. As a self-proclaimed Iranian-Texan, her work in the West is influenced by her travels to the East.

Her Persian short films Maryam Joon and My Friend Shokat have screened at a multitude of festivals around the world including SXSW, Austin Film Festival, the Berlinale with the Creative Mind Group, and The Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston. She was recently a semi-finalist with Disney Launchpad and co-edited the Oscar-qualifying short Things That Happen In The Bathroom.

She studied Radio-Television-Film, minored in German, and was recognized as the 2018 Outstanding Scholar of the Film Department upon graduating. She continued her studies in Beijing, China, where she earned her Master's in Global Affairs with the Schwarzman Scholarship - one of the world's most prestigious graduate fellowships.

Her Persian roots, time spent living in Berlin and Beijing, and dedication to learning about different cultures and languages influence her work.

She likes to tell visually compelling, universal stories to which people from all cultures and backgrounds can relate - whether in her film or photography work.

Currently, she is the co-founder of PILLARBOXED, the only women, POC, and LGBTQ-led video production company in Austin, Texas. She aims to cultivate an inclusive work environment to make space for marginalized communities and creatives of color. She also sits on the Board of Directors at Big Medium, a non-profit dedicated to championing and cultivating artists and the contemporary arts in Texas.

She strives to work on projects that strike a balance between entertaining audiences, finding truth in humanity, and delivering meaningful societal messages.

bita@pillarboxed.com