Synopsis
Pursuing work in the male-dominated profession of car repairs, Zahra faces a number of obstacles posed by her gender.
New Horizons was an official selection of the 2011 WVN Online Film Festival.
About the Filmmaker
Aref Mohammadi obtained his B.A. in Persian Literature in 1995 from Azad University, Tehran, Iran. He also completed a Diploma in Community Work from George Brown College, Toronto, Canada in 2004. After Immigrating to Canada, Aref managed to work as a journalist with a number of the Iranian newspapers and TV programs in Toronto. As a journalist, he got the opportunity to interview well known and established cineastes such as Atom Egoyan, Abbas Kiarostami, ArsinĂ©e Khanjian, Shohreh Aghdashlou (the first Iranian actress to be nominated for an Academy Award) Jafar Panahi, Majid Majidi, Bahman Ghobadi, Samira Makhmalbaf and Asghar Farhadi (the first Iranian to have won an Academy Award). He published a selection of these interviews in a book called “Iranian Cinema – From Past to Present, which was published in 2012.Aref was the recipient of a number of appreciation certificates
Aref was the recipient of a number of appreciation certificates including The City of Markham (2013), Iranian Art and Culture Foundation in Toronto (2011) and AWIC Community Centre (2005) for the volunteer jobs he has done for the Iranian Community since he immigrated to Canada.
In 2004, Aref established an artistic and cultural group called New-Wave dedicated to the study and analysis of cinema through providing seminars, educational workshops, and discussion panels.
Aref has produced two short documentaries called Bus (2005), about the first female bus driver in Iran, and New Horizon (2009) about the first female mechanic in Iran. His latest Feature documentary called A Survivor From Magadan, won several awards including best TV Documentary (Canadian Ethnic Media).
