The Fall and Rise of Zahhāk
A Tale From Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh
Presents
The Fall And Rise Of ZAHHĀK
A Tale From Ferdowsi’s SHAHNAMEH
Pouya Afshar | Omid Arabian | Kourosh Beigpour
The Fall And Rise of Zahhāk is an allegorical tale about the thirst for power and the origins of oppression that speaks to the modern world as powerfully as it did 1000 years ago. Adapted faithfully from the epic Shahnameh (The Book of Kings) written in Persian by Abu'l-Qāsem Ferdowsi, this film is a labor of love by Pouya Afshar, Kourosh Beigpour, and Omid Arabian.
About Pouya Afshar
Pouya Afshar is an alumnus of the California Institute of Arts Character Animation department and a graduate of the UCLA Graduate Department of Film and Television focusing on Animation and Digital Media. He has exhibited his work as a visual artist throughout the United States, including at the Getty Center, USC, UCLA, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Craft Contemporary Museum, as well as numerous galleries and art fairs around the world. Pouya has presented his research at Stanford University, Harvard University, USC, UCLA, The School of Museum of Fine Arts Boston, and Residency Unlimited NY. He is the creator, character designer, and producer of the animated series Rostam in Wonderland, the co-creator of 1PA2PA comics, and the creator of the TEHRAN graphic novel. He is currently an associate professor of art at the University of Massachusetts, Lowell.
Follow on Instagram: @pouya_afshar_
About Omid Arabian
Omid Arabian is the founder & director of YOUniversal Center, a non-profit educational organization based in Los Angeles. Since 2010 he has conducted courses in eastern mysticism and western philosophy for adults & children. His translations of Rumi have been published in three volumes; he is also the author of three children’s books based on Persian mystical poetry: The Heart’s Garden, The Donkey’s Gone!, and You Are Everything, published by Seven Stories Press. Omid holds a B.A. in Architecture from Columbia University, and an M.A. in Cinema Studies from NYU.
Follow on Instagram: YOUniversalCenter
About Kourosh Beigpour
Kourosh Beigpour is an LA-based award-winning graphic artist and type designer. He received his BFA from the Tehran University of Art in 2003, and his MFA in International Contemporary Art and Design from Limkokwing University in 2011. Beigpour’s work in typography and graphic design has been published in more than twenty countries around the globe. His portfolio showcases his love and appreciation for millennia-old Iranian art and culture with a special focus and interest in Persian and Arabic typography and identity design. Beigpour has designed for a wide range of clientele, including Google, The Broad, The J. Paul Getty Museum, University of California Irvine (UCI), UCLA, and The Samuel Jordan Center for Persian Studies and Culture.
Follow on Instagram: kourosh_beigpour
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