Rayka Zehtabchi is an Iranian-American filmmaker best known for her 2019 Academy Award-winning documentary short Period. End of Sentence., which addresses the topic of period poverty.[1] Her previous film, Madaran, was an Iranian-language short about an Iranian mother who must decide whether to spare the life of her son's killer.[2] Zehtabchi is the first Iranian-American woman to win an Academy Award.[3] After the success of Period. End of Sentence, Zehtabchi collaborated with Planned Parenthood and We Testify to make a short film addressing abortion stigma, which was released in 2020.[4] Her newest short film, Long Line of Ladies, premiered at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival.[5] The film won the award for Best Documentary Short at SXSW 2022.[6]

Rayka Zehtabchi
رایکا زهتابچی
Years active2015-present
Notable workPeriod. End of Sentence.

Filmography

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Year Title Director Writer Producer Notes
2016 Madaran Yes Yes Yes
2016 We Home Yes No No
2018 Period. End of Sentence. Yes No Yes [7]
2019 Shnoof Yes No Yes
2020 Just Hold On Yes Yes No
2020 A Woman's Place: The Butcher, the Chef and the Restaurateur Yes No No
2021 Are You Still There? Yes Yes No
2022 Long Line of Ladies Yes No Yes
2023 They Came from All Over Yes No No

References

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  1. ^ Rothstein, Katie (February 24, 2019). "Menstruation Finally Gets the Attention It Deserves at the Oscars". www.vulture.com.
  2. ^ Ramos, Dino-Ray (July 24, 2017). "NBC Announces Semi-Finalists For 12th Annual NBCUniversal Short Film Festival". Deadline. Retrieved March 10, 2019.
  3. ^ "First Iranian-American Woman to Win Oscar Turns to Iran-Themed Films". VOA. February 26, 2019. Retrieved March 10, 2019.
  4. ^ Gonzales, Erica (January 28, 2020). "Oscar-Winning Director Rayka Zehtabchi on Challenging Abortion Stigma with Storytelling". Harper's BAZAAR. Retrieved January 9, 2022.
  5. ^ "Sundance unveils Short Film program for 2022 festival". Retrieved January 9, 2022.
  6. ^ Lattanzio, Ryan (March 16, 2022). "SXSW Unveils 2022 Award Winners for Feature Film, Shorts, Episodic, and More". IndieWire. Retrieved June 5, 2022.
  7. ^ Gordon, Eric A. (January 18, 2019). "'Period. End of Sentence.' Short documentary about menstruation and sanitary pads". People's World. Retrieved October 18, 2024.
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