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"The Dawn is Too Far: Stories of Iranian-American Life"

This 55-minute poetic documentary features stories about eight individuals who are part of the San Francisco Bay Area Iranian-American community. It narrates a longer arc of history that begins with the arrival of Iranians as students in the early 1960s, their participation in social and artistic movements, as well as their contributions to the communities where they live and work. It also tells the larger history of US-Iran relations through themes of exile, alienation, and separation, particularly in the context of the 1979 revolution and hostage crisis, but also more recent events like the 2017 "Muslim Ban." The narrative is told by the characters themselves, and highlights both their resilience and their fortitude and the ways that they find new ways of belonging and redefining "home."

  • Persis M Karim
    Director
  • Soumyaa Behrens
    Director
    Nailhouse, Con Motto,
  • Persis M Karim
    Producer
  • Soumyaa Behrens
    Producer
  • Parviz Shokat
    Key Cast
  • Bella Warda
    Key Cast
  • Taraneh Hemami
    Key Cast
  • Mokhtar Paki
    Key Cast
  • Torange Yeghiazarian
    Key Cast
  • Goli Mohebbi
    Key Cast
  • Hanif Sadr
    Key Cast
  • Corey Ohama
    Other Collaborators
  • Ardalan Payvar
    Other Collaborators
  • Persis Karim
    Writer
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Feature
  • Runtime:
    55 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    August 1, 2024
  • Production Budget:
    170,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Roxie Theater "Sneak Peek" for Cast and Families
    San Francisco
    United States
    August 31, 2024
Director Biography - Persis M Karim, Soumyaa Behrens

Persis Karim (Co-Director, Co-Producer, Executive Producer) is a first-time filmmaker but an experienced storyteller. She is the editor of three anthologies of Iranian diaspora literature: A World Between: Poems, Short Stories and Essays by Iranian-Americans, 1999; Let Me Tell You Where I've Been: New Writing by Women of the Iranian Diaspora, 2006; and, Tremors: New Fiction by Iranian-American Writers, 2013). In 2014, she wrote and produced a digital storytelling project titled, "Iranian Americans of Silicon Valley," funded by Cal Humanities. Currently, she serves as the director of the Center for Iranian Diaspora Studies at San Francisco State University, where she also teaches in the Department of Humanities and Comparative and World Literature. She has been engaged with storytelling, writing, and editing for more than 25 years, and has committed her career to telling stories about the Iranian-American community in many forms. "The Dawn is Too Far: Stories of Iranian-American Life" is her first film project.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

In "The Dawn is Too Far," I wanted to make a film about what I know about Iranian Americans--not what is regularly portrayed in the US media. I wanted to show their hospitality and warmth, their resilience and vision, but also their vulnerability and disappointment. I wanted to find ways to challenge many of the stereotypes and misinformation about Iranians that have been part of a forty-six-year news cycle where the the stalemate between the US and Iranian governments occludes the voices and stories of those who left Iran and have made their lives here, sometimes at great personal sacrifice. I also wanted to share a much longer arc of history and to give artists and activists the ability to narrate their own story. "The Dawn is Too Far: Stories of Iranian-American Life" offers an intimate and lyrical view into one of the most vibrant Iranian diaspora communities in the US--where people have reinvented themselves and added new energy and vision to the San Francisco Bay Area. The film draws on the arts and activism of this community, utilizing rare archival footage and photos that have not been seen before.
Please see the attached press kit for more information.