Hoda Sobhani is an Iranian documentary filmmaker whose work bridges poetic realism with socio-political urgency. Drawing from her background in theater and cinema studies, Hoda’s films explore themes of memory, resistance, gender, and diaspora through a distinctly human lens. She holds an MFA in Social Documentation from the University of California, Santa Cruz, a Master’s in Cinema Studies from Sooreh University in Tehran, and a Bachelor’s in Theatre Directing from the University of Tehran.
Her acclaimed short documentary Futility Season—an intimate portrait of friendship and exile—has screened internationally at the Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival, San Diego Asian Film Festival, Houston AAPI Film Festival, Seattle AAPI Film Festival, and UCLA’s Billy Wilder Theater. Her ongoing animated project That Night, supported by Visualizing Abolition and successful crowdfunding, tells the harrowing story of a woman activist during the 2022 Evin Prison fire.
Fluent in both Farsi and English, Hoda brings a transnational voice to her storytelling—rooted in Iranian experience, yet resonant across borders. She has taught cinema and feminist studies at the University of Oregon and UC Santa Cruz, and has collaborated with projects supported by the Los Angeles Times and Re-Present Media.
Now based in Oregon, she continues to create films that illuminate unheard stories with tenderness and truth.