Bubjan
Documentary | 28 min. | 2023
Bubjan is the story of a life lived. This is the journey of Parwiz Zafari, an Iranian man who has been living in exile in the United States since the Islamic Revolution in 1979. Parwiz was a member of the Iranian parliament, where he dedicated his life to making Iran a progressive, modern, and free society — before the Islamic Republic swept it all away, and he was forced to leave behind everything he knew. Told from the perspectives of Parwiz and his eldest son, we hear the mythology behind the principles he learned as a boy, principles that guided him as a young idealistic man in government, and that continue to guide him as a displaced elder living amongst the Iranian diaspora. Parwiz has held on to the belief that Iran will one day become a free country and the hope that a new generation will carry the torch toward a brighter future for his homeland.
Life in the Shadows
Feature Documentary | 90 min. | 2024
In Hazara Town, Pakistan, every day is a struggle for survival.
Extremist networks have publicly declared Jihad against the Hazaras. Bombs blast in markets and schools and playgrounds on a daily basis. The residents are contemptuous with their imposed security by the Pakistani military - one that prevents them from leaving their small town. They can go nowhere. Hazara Town has become a graveyard for the Hazaras. For them, death is no longer peculiar. The victims’ families accept the death of their loved ones as fate or Allah’s will. That's how they heal and keep living. But how would one heal if one doesn’t believe in neither God nor the promise of heaven?
Death Rattler
Feature Documentary | 74min | 2023
Brian O'Hare thought he knew his father and his country after graduating from the U.S. Naval Academy and serving six years as a Marine in combat in the Persian Gulf. But after the death of his larger-than-life Marine pilot father from Agent Orange at age 56, Brian realized he knew nothing. His father's death set Brian off on a 14 year journey of discovery that became "Death Rattler"—a fearless global quest to demythologize not only his father and himself, but his country as well—the America beyond the wealth and power and fantasy; an odyssey into the very soul of America itself, asking the question "What does it mean to be an American?" Now, as the father of a young son himself, Brian's quest takes on the urgency of legacy; what America will he leave to his son and the world?
Watch excerpt on Vimeo.
Logan's Syndrome
Feature Documentary | 80min | 2018
Directed by Nathan Meier | Produced by Brian O'Hare, Nathan Meier, Azadeh Navai, Logan Madsen | Executive Producers: Eric Lane, Terry Madsen | Edited by Azadeh Navai
Logan Madsen is one in a billion. Literally. Despite suffering from an incredibly rare genetic disorder called Miller Syndrome—a condition that affects fewer than thirty people in the world—Logan is able to create stunning, hyper-realistic paintings. Beginning as a painter of pretty flower portraits, Logan’s work evolved into an audacious series of pictures boldly depicting his disabilities. After years longing simply to “blend in”, Logan’s dynamic paintings dare the world to not just look, but to stare. Logan’s Syndrome takes us on a fascinating journey, as Logan—like a modern Don Quixote— takes on the windmills of his life: his disability, the break-up of his “perfect” Mormon family and his eternal search for romantic love. But it’s Logan’s humor and courageousness that ultimately draw us into his world—as we experience what it’s like to be Logan, shattering everything we think we know about disability, while reinforcing what it means to be human.
Winner - Best Documentary Feature - Carmel International Film Festival, October 2017
Watch on Amazon Prime, Apple, YouTube, Fandor.
First & Last
A Netflix Original Documentary Series | 2017
The first day of jail is probably the hardest for inmates, knowing that it's just the first day of their sentence. On the other hand, with the last day of imprisonment comes a sense of freedom, knowing that they are about to released from the facility. Both days are emotionally charged, but for entirely different reasons This docuseries takes a look at inmates at Georgia's Gwinnett County Jail on the first and last days of their incarcerations to get a sense of the emotions on both ends of the spectrum.
Watch on Netflix.