Saman Yaghmai-Aledavoud

Saman's interest in filmmaking developed in his early teenage years while living in Tehran, Iran. He began working on short films as the cinematographer in his high school years. During this period, he worked on the controversial short film, The Marsh (2002), which exposed the secret lifestyle of Iranian youth, including online dating, underground parties, and drug usage. The movie was scheduled to be screened on the closing night of the prestigious Baran Women Short Film Festival; however, it got banned by the government prior to the screening due to its content. With the encouragement of his fellow young filmmaker friends, Saman decided to try directing in addition to cinematography. He shot and directed his first short film at the age of 18, titled "Allow the Wind to Take You Wherever It Wants (2003)," about a day in a young poet's life who is dealing with loneliness as his parents have just left to travel abroad and the disappointment in his girlfriend for forgetting their anniversary. Saman moved to Los Angeles in 2003 to formally study filmmaking. He enjoyed immediate success with "Allow the Wind to Take You Wherever It Wants (2003)," which won the Best Directing, Screenwriting, and Cinematography awards from Santa Monica College's Student Filmmakers Association Film Festival. Saman majored in Film Studies and also studied photography and music at Santa Monica College. He later received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Cinema with an emphasis in cinematography from Columbia College Hollywood as an honor student. At Columbia, he teamed up with the best of his peers and completed cinematography on several thesis films and independent projects as well as directing a few projects himself. He also completed an internship with Seamus McGarvey, ASC, BSC, the Academy Award Nominee cinematographer of "Atonement (2007)" and "Anna Karenina (2012)" and Alex Nepomniaschy, ASC. "The Old Car (2010)", Saman's first short film that he has directed since moving to the United States, was completed in 2009. The film, featuring John Piccione and Rebecca Rainboldt as Charles and Alyssa, tells the heartwarming tale of how a seemingly simple object - a car - can take us on a nostalgic journey back in time, reliving old memories. The experience shared by the two characters helps to change their views regarding each other and the car. "The Old Car" was the closing film at the Columbia College Hollywood's Film Festival for the Industry in 2010 and was very well received. Saman's next short film, "$lowdown (2011)", inspired by the 2008 recession in the United States, premiered at the 4th annual Las Vegas Film Festival and won the Golden Ace Award for "superior filmmaking" in the Student Film Competition. It also received nominations for 'Best Short Film' and 'Best Actor' at the 4th Annual Noor Iranian Film Festival in Los Angeles, and toured to San Francisco, Daytona Beach, and San Diego with the festival's promotion of Iranian-American filmmakers. This tragic drama focuses on the story of a homeless man portrayed by Ali Saam (Argo (2012)) and a bank employee portrayed by JT Alexander (10 Cent Pistol (2014)). Between 2011 to 2016, Saman produced feature film, "Tourbillon (2016)", for director Gene Ivery, which had its world premiere at SCI-FI-LONDON in April 2016. He also produced and directed various sketches and a late-night TV talk show titled "Minutes with Max Amini (2014)" for stand-up comedian and actor, Max Amini that aired on VOA. Saman is currently (2023) completing the post-production of his first narrative feature, Peterburgskaya Istoriya, a romantic comedy shot in summer of 2021 in Saint Petersburg, Russia starring Aleksei Shtukin, Artur Vakha and Oksana Bazilevich in Russian language. He is also completing the post-production on his feature documentary titled "Alam High School" about an elite and iconic school in Mashhad, Iran, that opened in 1969 and was closed down following the Islamic Revolution and turned into a prison for political dissidents whereby some of the former students were imprisoned there. He is also working on the development of a feature psychological thriller titled "Committed" with Cortney Palm (Sushi Girl (2012)), Ali Saam, and JT Alexander as a part of the cast. As a cinematographer, Saman has worked on numerous short films, documentaries, TV shows, music videos, and commercials and continues to collaborate on exceptional projects. In March 2023, he completed filming Sheriff Johnson western film, a prequel to The Unspoken Badge (2021) for which he received nomination for Best Cinematography in 2021.