Filmmaker
An Iranian filmmaker making character-driven work about social and human issues.
Best Ohio Short, Columbus Film Festival
Best Ohio Short · Columbus Film Festival
3rd Place · Ivy Film Festival
Awards
Best Ohio Short
Best Student Short
Best Drama Short
Best Director
Finalists
Finalist
Finalist
Finalist
Quarter-Finalist
Quarter-Finalist
Honorable Mention
Honorable Mention
Official Selections
Official Selection
Official Selection
Official Selection
Official Selection
Official Selection
Official Selection
Official Selection
Official Selection
Official Selection
Placement
3rd Place
Sina Mahdavi is an Iranian filmmaker currently pursuing an MFA in Film Production at Ohio University. He holds a BA in Philosophy from Mofid University and an MA in Cinema from the University of Tehran. His work spans directing, editing, cinematography, and film and media production, with a particular interest in character-driven stories that explore social and human issues.
Before moving to the United States, Mahdavi worked in Iran’s film and streaming industry. He spent nearly two years in Content Acquisition at Filimo, one of Iran’s leading streaming platforms, and served as an Art Director at Filimo School, contributing to the production of approximately 300 episodes of educational content. He also worked on Mentalist, an eight-episode reality series produced for Filimo.
His short films have screened at numerous film festivals and received several awards and recognitions, including Best Ohio Short at the Columbus Film Festival, Best Student Short at the Silver Chance International Film Festival, Best Drama Short at the Virginia Emerging Filmmakers Festival, and Best Director at the WILDsound FEEDBACK Film Festival. His screenplay Epilogue also received Third Place in the Graduate Short Screenplay category at the Ivy Film Festival.
In addition to his filmmaking, Mahdavi has worked as a film screener for the Athens International Film + Video Festival and Cinequest Film & Creativity Festival. His current work focuses on socially engaged storytelling and exploring how film can create dialogue around complex social issues and connect communities through shared human experiences.
Content Acquisition
Sina Mahdavi worked in Content Acquisition at Filimo, one of Iran’s leading video-on-demand platforms, for nearly two years. His work involved evaluating films and series for potential acquisition, reviewing content from both creative and audience perspectives, and contributing to the selection and development of Filimo’s content library. The role gave him extensive experience in film evaluation, audience-oriented content strategy, and the streaming industry.
Art Director
Mahdavi also worked as an Art Director at Filimo School, Filimo’s educational content platform. In this role, he contributed to the production of approximately 300 episodes of educational video content, working across the visual and creative aspects of production. His responsibilities included helping shape the visual approach of the programs and collaborating with production teams to maintain consistency and quality across a large volume of content.
Ohio University
University of Tehran
Mofid University
Contact
For collaborations, screenings, professional inquiries, or questions about my work, please get in touch.
