let's go back in time.
My father grew up in a small village north of Iran before moving to the big city and becoming one of the country’s top surgeons against all odds. With his visions of a brighter future and my mother’s sacrifices, we preserved and moved to Canada. I was 12 and my parents in their early 30s.
Persian tradition, culture, music. Western hedonism, psychedelia, individualism. Where these two worlds met, boggled my mind and creativity took the best of me as I tried to figure out who I was. An introvert with lots to express, I took a shot at becoming an artist. From being a nervous wreck at my first little screening in New York, to showing my work at the Reading & Leeds music festivals where Arctic Monkeys and Meghan Thee Stallion headlined, it’s been a hell of a ride.
I want to create culture; with innovative visually striking work that brings joy, stimulation and empowerment to audiences, sometimes through the lens of genre film, science fiction and dark comedy. I’ve had the pleasure of directing for the Juno-winning band The Halluci Nation (formerly A Tribe Called Red), working with Warner Music Canada, and presenting my work at the Shiny Awards, Directors Notes, and Berlin Commercial (where I’ve received 8 shortlist nominations including Direction), as well as five Oscar Qualifying festivals including Atlanta Film Festival and Nashville Film Festival. I also hold an MA in Media Production from Toronto Metropolitan University and a BSc in Biotechnology from the University of Toronto.
Now that you know a little bit about me, let’s get to work.
Contact
Freelance Enquiries - sinadolatia@gmail.com // @sinadolati_
Press // Recognition
• Berlin Commercial - Official Selection in the Direction category for ADHD
• Berlin Commercial - Shortlisted in 8 categories for wait on me, including Cultural Impact and Direction
• Directors Notes - Feature on ADHD, one of the top 20 DN Conversations of 2022
• Shiny Awards - ADHD shortlisted in March 2022 edition
• 1.4 Awards - ADHD longlisted in November 2022 edition
• Variety - Nashville Film Festival 2021 lineup featuring LILY’S DAY
• Trinity Square Video - X-Wave Mentorship recipient 2021
• Leeds / Reading 2022 - ADHD screened at the Arctic Monkeys and Megan Thee Stallion headlining music festivals
• Billboard - Prism Prize spotlight featuring wait on me
• Promonews - Feature on ADHD
• CBC - Feature on Mother Mother and the One More Saturday Night album from The Halluci Nation
• Notion - Feature on wait on me
• Earmilk - 'KIANA delivers an incredible message of female empowerment in new visuals for wait on me'
• Styly + Microsoft Reactor - 'Music Video Evolution with Sina Dolati: a workshop on utilizing VR and new mediums to break convention in cinematic storytelling'
• Noiz - Piece on the Caostica festival in the Spanish publication, featuring ADHD
• CultureNow - Piece on the Psarokokalo festival in the Greek publication, featuring ADHD
• Occhi Magazine - 'Toronto-Based R&B Artist KIANA Provides A Cinematic Tribute to Women'
• Remixd Magazine - Feature on wait on me
• TVE Internacional - ADHD featured on national Spanish television as part of the Caostica festival
• Le Temps - ADHD at Geneva International Film Festival 2021
• Cyber Shorts Film Festival - Best Screenplay award for TERMINAL LOVE
• Artscape Launchpad - feature on SÄYE SKYE - ADHD: THE VR EXPERIENCE
• Transmedia Zone - Audience Experience award for KARIAKOO 360 (As Film Editor)
Screenings // Festivals
• Berlin Commercial (Berlin, Germany) - Shortlist in 8 Categories including Best Direction and Cultural Impact
• Berlin Commercial (Berlin, Germany) - Official Selection
• Atlanta Film Festival (Atlanta, US) - Official Selection
• Athens International Film and Video Festival [Oscar Qualifying] [Canadian Screen Award Qualifying] (Athens, OH, USA)
• Nashville Film Festival 2021 [Oscar Qualifying] (Nashville, US)
• deadCenter Film Festival 2021 [Oscar Qualifying] (Oklahoma, US)
• Florida Film Festival 2022 [Oscar Qualifying] (Tampa, FL, USA)
• Directors Notes (Online Feature), ADHD featured in the Top 20 Conversations of 2022
• 1.4 Awards November 2022 (London, UK) - Longlist (Shortlist/Winners TBA)
• Shiny Awards March 2022 (London, UK): SÄYE SKYE - ADHD (2D Version) shortlisted
• Leeds and Reading Music Festivals 2022 (Leeds and Reading, UK)
• Geneva International Film Festival 2021 (Geneva, Switzerland)
• Byron Bay International Film Festival October 2023 (Byron Bay, Australia)
• Caostica International Film & Music Video Festival 2022 (Bilbao, Spain)
• Rio Webfest 2022 (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) - ADHD Nominated for Best Music Video
• Trinity Square Video Music Video Projects screening 2022 (Toronto, Canada)
• Sidewalk Film Festival 2022 (Birmingham, AL, USA)
• Psarokokalo International Short Film Festival 2022 (Athens, Greece)
• Capital City Film Festival 2022 (Lansing, MI, USA)
• International Short Film Festival Detmold 2022 (Detmold, Germany)
• Athens Digital Arts Festival 2021 (Athens, Greece)
• Toronto Short Film Festival March 2023 (Toronto, Canada)
• Toronto Shorts International Film Festival January 2022 (Toronto, Canada)
• Vancouver Short Film Festival 2023 (Vancouver, Canada)
• Garofano Rosso Film Festival September 2023 (Forme, Italy)
• Experimental Superstars November 2022 (Novi Sad, Serbia)
• FICIMAD 2022 (Madrid, Spain) - ADHD Winner of Best Music Video
• Munich Music Video Awards 2022 (Munich, Germany)
• Filmchilla (Twin Oaks, California, US): Winner of Best VR Experience for ADHD: VR
• Splice Film Fest (New York, US): Terminal Love winner of Narrative Audience Choice Award
• indiefilmTO December 2019 (Toronto, CA)
• Cyber Shorts VR Film Festival 2021 (AltSpace virtual screening) Terminal Love Winner of Best Screenplay Award
• Alternative Film Festival 2019 (Toronto, CA): Terminal Love winner of Best Writing for Short Film Award
• Hollywood North Film Awards 2019 (Toronto, Ca): Terminal Love nominee for Best VFX & Colour In a Canadian Short Film.