Mardazma

Directed by Amir Masoud Soheili

Runtime: 00:14:30

Country of Origin: Afghanistan

Two armed men, escorting arrested voters to their punishment, take an alternative route to evade the army. Their journey descends into chaos when they encounter Mardazma, a mythical Afghan jinn who tests their courage and morality in a battle between superstition, power, and fear.

Director Biography

Masoud Soheili is an award-winning Iranian filmmaker, festival programmer, and photographer renowned for “Blue-eyed Boy” (2014) and “Elephantbird” (2019). His creative achievements have earned him over 40 awards across more than 300 international film festivals for these two films.

He has served as a jury member at 10 film festivals, including the Yogya Netpac Asian Film Festival (2015), Avanca International Film Festival in Portugal (2016 and 2018), SAARC Film Festival in Sri Lanka (2017), the International Documentary and Short Film Festival of Kerala in India (2018), Malatya International Film Festival in Turkey (2018), Dhaka International Youth Film Festival in Bangladesh (2020), Accra Indie Film Festival in Ghana (2022), Chaktomuk Short Film Festival in Cambodia (2022), Azemeis Film Festival in Portugal (2022), the Starling Short Film Festival in the UK (2023) and Alternativa Film Awards in Indonesia (2024). Additionally, Masoud is the co-founder and creative director of the “Asia Peace Film Festival” in Islamabad, Pakistan, and serves as the programmer for the “Changing Perspective International Film Festival” in Istanbul, Turkey, “Minikino Film Week” in Bali, Indonesia and The Bay International Film Festival in UK. He also directed the inaugural “Safe Community” International Film Festival in Mashhad, Iran, in 2017.

Soheili’s academic background encompasses a bachelor’s degree in law from Ferdowsi University. He furthered his studies in cinema for a year at the Indonesian Art Institute in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. In 2016, he participated in the Asian Film Academy, and in 2018, he pursued “International Film Business” at the Busan Asian Film School.

Masoud pursued a Master's Degree in Scriptwriting with "KinoEyes The European Film Masters" across Lisbon, Portugal; Tallinn, Estonia; and Edinburgh, Scotland, culminating in graduation in 2024 from Edinburgh.

Masoud’s expertise in visual storytelling also extends to photography and videography, with his work featured on prominent platforms such as National Geographic, AJ+, VICE Media, TRT, Great Big Story, VOA, and Business Insider.

His feature-length documentary film had its premiere at the Yamagata Film Festival in Japan in 2023. He produced Komeil Soheili's documentaries such as "Co-exist" and "Land of Demons".

His debut photography book, titled “Durian on My Head,” showcases his extensive experiences in Iran and Indonesia and was published in both countries.