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=== Business ventures ===
=== Business ventures ===
Tousi is the co-founder, along with author [[Reza Aslan]], of BoomGen Studios, an independent incubator and cross-platform development studio. It was founded in 2006 to develop, launch and consult on entertainment media about the peoples, myths, and cultures of the [[Greater Middle East]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Palizi |first=Brooke |date=2020-07-30 |title=Faces of Entrepreneurship: Mahyad Tousi, BoomGen Studios and Starfish |url=https://thecenter.nasdaq.org/foe-mahyad-tousi-starfish/ |access-date=2024-05-28 |website=The Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center |language=en-US}}</ref>
Tousi is the co-founder, along with author [[Reza Aslan]], of BoomGen Studios, an independent incubator and cross-platform development studio. It was founded in 2006 to develop, launch and consult on entertainment content related to the [[Greater Middle East]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Palizi |first=Brooke |date=2020-07-30 |title=Faces of Entrepreneurship: Mahyad Tousi, BoomGen Studios and Starfish |url=https://thecenter.nasdaq.org/foe-mahyad-tousi-starfish/ |access-date=2024-05-28 |website=The Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Horst |first=Carole |date=2010-10-11 |title=BoomGen nabs multimedia rights to ‘Shahnameh’ |url=https://variety.com/2010/film/news/boomgen-nabs-multimedia-rights-to-shahnameh-1118025482/ |access-date=2024-08-07 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}</ref>


BoomGen Studios has consulted on films including ''[[Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (film)|Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time]]; [[Body of Lies (film)|Body of Lies]]; [[The Promise (2016 film)|The Promise]]; [[Rendition (film)|Rendition]]; [[Aladdin (2019 film)|Aladdin]]; [[Aladdin (2011 musical)|Aladdin: The Broadway Musical]]; Portals; ZIKR: A Sufi Revival; [[A Hologram for the King (film)|A Hologram for the King]]; [[Rock the Kasbah (film)|Rock the Kasbah]]; [[Rosewater (film)|Rosewater]]; [[Miral]]; The Square; [[Amreeka]]; The Trials of Spring''; and several TV series.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Advanced search |url=https://www.imdb.com/search/ |access-date=2024-05-28 |website=IMDb |language=en-US}}</ref>
BoomGen Studios has consulted on films including ''[[Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (film)|Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time]]; [[Body of Lies (film)|Body of Lies]]; [[The Promise (2016 film)|The Promise]]; [[Rendition (film)|Rendition]]; [[Aladdin (2019 film)|Aladdin]]; [[Aladdin (2011 musical)|Aladdin: The Broadway Musical]]; Portals; ZIKR: A Sufi Revival; [[A Hologram for the King (film)|A Hologram for the King]]; [[Rock the Kasbah (film)|Rock the Kasbah]]; [[Rosewater (film)|Rosewater]]; [[Miral]]; The Square; [[Amreeka]]; Body of Lies; Rendition; The Trials of Spring''; and the TLC series “All-American Muslim.”<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Block |first=Alex Ben |date=2011-02-10 |title=How the Egypt Crisis Has Shut Down Show Business |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/egypt-crisis-shut-show-business-97897/ |access-date=2024-08-07 |website=The Hollywood Reporter |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2014-04-02 |title=Why Broadway's Much-Anticipated 'Aladdin' Musical Is Facing Backlash |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/disney-aladdin-broadway-racist_n_5001833 |access-date=2024-08-07 |website=HuffPost |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Mouallem |first=Omar |date=2019-05-22 |title=How the First Arab American Movie Star Foretold a Century of Muslim Misrepresentation |url=https://www.theringer.com/movies/2019/5/22/18634743/aladdin-middle-eastern-muslim-representation-hollywood |access-date=2024-08-07 |website=The Ringer |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=McNary |first=Dave |date=2012-10-17 |title=BoomGen taps Evans for ‘Birthright’ |url=https://variety.com/2012/film/news/boomgen-taps-evans-for-birthright-1118060862/ |access-date=2024-08-07 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Advanced search |url=https://www.imdb.com/search/ |access-date=2024-05-28 |website=IMDb |language=en-US}}</ref>


=== Philanthropy ===
=== Philanthropy ===
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=== '''Film and television credits''' ===
=== '''Film and television credits''' ===
Tousi co-produced the 2006 film ''Marvelous'', starring [[Amy Ryan]], [[Michael Shannon]], [[Martha Plimpton]], and [[Ewen Bremner]]. He produced [[Ben Gazzara]]’s last film, ''Looking For Palladin'', in 2008, and was a consulting producer on the 2009 TV series "We Are New York."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mahyad Tousi {{!}} Producer, Writer, Director |url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1160535/ |access-date=2024-05-28 |website=IMDb |language=en-US}}</ref>
Tousi co-produced the 2006 film ''Marvelous'', starring [[Amy Ryan]], [[Michael Shannon]], [[Martha Plimpton]], and [[Ewen Bremner]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Episode 105: “Artists Fuel Change” with Mahyad Tousi & Bridgit Antoinette Evans |url=http://thisiswonderland.us/episodes/episode-105-artists-fuel-change-mahyad-tousi-bridgit-antoinette-evans/ |access-date=2024-08-07 |website=WONDERLAND |language=en-US}}</ref> He produced [[Ben Gazzara]]’s last film, ''Looking For Palladin'', in 2008, and was a consulting producer on the 2009 TV series "We Are New York."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mahyad Tousi {{!}} Producer, Writer, Director |url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1160535/ |access-date=2024-05-28 |website=IMDb |language=en-US}}</ref>


He executive produced the [[ABC Signature|ABC]] TV series "Of Kings and Prophets" in 2016.<ref>{{Citation |last=Arora |first=Gabo |title=ZIKR: A Sufi Revival |date=2018-01-18 |type=Documentary, Short |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7834218/ |access-date=2024-05-28 |publisher=1001 MEDIA, BoomGen Studios, Sensorium}}</ref>
He executive produced the [[ABC Signature|ABC]] TV series "Of Kings and Prophets" in 2016.<ref>{{Cite web |title=ABC picks up 'biblical saga' from 'Exodus' duo, 4 more drama pilots |url=https://ew.com/article/2015/01/23/abc-of-kings-and-prophets-pilots/ |access-date=2024-08-07 |website=EW.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Of Kings and Prophets |url=https://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/of-kings-and-prophets/cast/1000532916/ |access-date=2024-08-07 |website=TVGuide.com |language=en}}</ref>


In 2021-2022, Tousi was an executive producer on two seasons of the CBS primetime comedy “[[United States of Al]],” honored by the MPAC Media Awards for “reaffirm[ing] the importance of on-screen representation and narrative building.”<ref>{{Citation |last1=Rottenberg |first1=Mika |title=Remote |date=2022-10-12 |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14234652/?ref_=nm_flmg_t_1_prd |access-date=2024-05-28 |others=Nikita Tewani, Pooya Mohseni, Okwui Okpokwasili |publisher=Artangel Media, Artangel, Hauser & Wirth |last2=Tousi |first2=Mahyad}}</ref> The show was known for including both Afghan writers and military veterans in its writers room, which wrote their family members’ real life-and-death efforts to flee Afghanistan into the plot of season two of the CBS comed (for which Tousi has story credit).<ref>{{Cite web |last=Roxborough |first=Scott |date=2021-10-07 |title="There Was No Blueprint for This": How 'United States of Al' Set Laughter Aside to Tackle the Fall of Kabul |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-features/united-states-of-al-fall-of-kabul-episode-sitcom-cbs-1235026346/ |access-date=2024-05-28 |website=The Hollywood Reporter |language=en-US}}</ref> 
In 2021-2022, Tousi was an executive producer on two seasons of the CBS primetime comedy “[[United States of Al]],” honored by the MPAC Media Awards for “reaffirm[ing] the importance of on-screen representation and narrative building.”<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=United States of Al |url=https://www.mpachollywoodbureau.org/united-states-of-al |access-date=2024-08-07 |website=The MPAC® Hollywood Bureau |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |last1=Rottenberg |first1=Mika |title=Remote |date=2022-10-12 |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14234652/?ref_=nm_flmg_t_1_prd |access-date=2024-05-28 |others=Nikita Tewani, Pooya Mohseni, Okwui Okpokwasili |publisher=Artangel Media, Artangel, Hauser & Wirth |last2=Tousi |first2=Mahyad}}</ref> The show was known for including both Afghan writers and military veterans in its writers room, which wrote their family members’ real life-and-death efforts to flee Afghanistan into the plot of season two of the CBS comed (for which Tousi has story credit).<ref>{{Cite web |last=Roxborough |first=Scott |date=2021-10-07 |title="There Was No Blueprint for This": How 'United States of Al' Set Laughter Aside to Tackle the Fall of Kabul |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-features/united-states-of-al-fall-of-kabul-episode-sitcom-cbs-1235026346/ |access-date=2024-05-28 |website=The Hollywood Reporter |language=en-US}}</ref> 


In 2022, Tousi wrote and co-created with video artist [[Mika Rottenberg]] the feature film ''REMOTE'', a “solarpunk fantasy” in which a woman discovers an anomaly in the virtual world that sends her on a quest toward a more genuine form of connection.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Nevins |first=Jake |date=2022-10-21 |title="What's Happening in Iran is Not a Local Story": Meet Filmmaker Mahyad Tousi |url=https://www.interviewmagazine.com/film/whats-happening-in-iran-is-not-a-local-story-meet-filmmaker-mahyad-tousi |access-date=2024-05-28 |website=Interview Magazine |language=en-US}}</ref> ''REMOTE'' was commissioned by [[Artangel]] in the UK, Denmark’s [[Louisiana Museum of Modern Art]], and [[Moderna Museet]] in Stockholm, Sweden, in association with [[Hauser & Wirth]]. The film was completed with support from [[Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles|MOCA]]'s Environmental Council, Los Angeles; [[Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal|Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal]]; X Museum, Beijing; the [[Busan Biennale]] in South Korea; and San Francisco’s [[Contemporary Jewish Museum]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=The CJM {{!}} REMOTE: A Screening and Conversation with Artist Mika Rottenberg, Mahyad Tousi, and Heidi Rabben |url=https://www.thecjm.org/programs/1208 |access-date=2024-05-28 |website=www.thecjm.org}}</ref>. ''REMOTE'' is in the permanent collections of the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art and Moderna Museet.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Network |first=Sculpture |date=2023-10-28 |title="REMOTE" MIKA ROTTENBERG & MAHYAD TOUSI |url=https://sculpture-network.org/en/event/69058/remote-mika-rottenberg-mahyad-tousi |access-date=2024-05-28 |website=Sculpture Network |language=en}}</ref> ''REMOTE'' was screened at the [[2022 New York Film Festival]]<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-10-11 |title=Artist Mika Rottenberg's first feature film captures a futuristic but familiar domestic isolation |url=https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2022/10/11/mika-rottenberg-new-york-film-festival-remote |access-date=2024-05-28 |website=The Art Newspaper - International art news and events}}</ref>, at MOCA in Los Angeles<ref>{{Cite web |title=REMOTE |url=https://www.moca.org/program/remote |access-date=2024-05-28 |website=www.moca.org |language=en}}</ref>, at the [[Tate]]<ref>{{Cite web |last=Tate |title=Mika Rottenberg and Mahyad Tousi: REMOTE {{!}} Tate Modern |url=https://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-modern/mika-rottenberg-and-mahyad-tousi-remote |access-date=2024-05-28 |website=Tate |language=en-GB}}</ref>, at [[San Francisco Museum of Modern Art|SF MOMA]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=REMOTE: A Screening and Conversation with Mika Rottenberg and Mahyad Tousi |url=https://www.sfmoma.org/event/remote-a-screening-and-conversation-with-mika-rottenberg-and-mahyad-tousi/ |access-date=2024-05-28 |website=SFMOMA |language=en-US}}</ref>, at MAC Montreal<ref>{{Cite web |date=May 28, 2024 |title="Screening of REMOTE_MAC Montreal" |url=https://macm.org/en/activities/screening-of-remote/ |access-date=May 28, 2024 |website=MAC Montreal}}</ref>, at [[M+]] in Hong Kong<ref>{{Cite web |title=REMOTE {{!}} M+ |url=https://www.mplus.org.hk/en/cinema/techno-sapiens/remote/ |access-date=2024-05-28 |website=www.mplus.org.hk |language=en-US}}</ref>, at the Busan Biennale<ref>{{Cite web |title=Busan Biennale 2022: We, on the Rising Wave - Announcements - e-flux |url=https://www.e-flux.com/announcements/489192/busan-biennale-2022we-on-the-rising-wave/ |access-date=2024-05-28 |website=www.e-flux.com |language=en}}</ref>, at Berlin’s Julia Stoschek Foundation<ref>{{Cite web |title=Julia Stoschek Foundation » SCREENING: MIKA ROTTENBERG & MAHYAD TOUSI |url=https://jsfoundation.art/exhibitions/screening-mika-rottenberg-mahyad-tousi/ |access-date=2024-05-28 |language=en}}</ref>, and at the Moderna Museet<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mika Rottenberg and Mahyad Tousi |url=https://www.modernamuseet.se/stockholm/en/exhibitions/mika-rottenberg-och-mahyad-tousi-remote/ |access-date=2024-05-28 |website=Moderna Museet i Stockholm |language=en-US}}</ref>.
In 2022, Tousi wrote and co-created with video artist [[Mika Rottenberg]] the feature film ''REMOTE'', a “solarpunk fantasy” in which a woman discovers an anomaly in the virtual world that sends her on a quest toward a more genuine form of connection.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Nevins |first=Jake |date=2022-10-21 |title="What's Happening in Iran is Not a Local Story": Meet Filmmaker Mahyad Tousi |url=https://www.interviewmagazine.com/film/whats-happening-in-iran-is-not-a-local-story-meet-filmmaker-mahyad-tousi |access-date=2024-05-28 |website=Interview Magazine |language=en-US}}</ref> ''REMOTE'' was commissioned by [[Artangel]] in the UK, Denmark’s [[Louisiana Museum of Modern Art]], and [[Moderna Museet]] in Stockholm, Sweden, in association with [[Hauser & Wirth]]. The film was completed with support from [[Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles|MOCA]]'s Environmental Council, Los Angeles; [[Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal|Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal]]; X Museum, Beijing; the [[Busan Biennale]] in South Korea; and San Francisco’s [[Contemporary Jewish Museum]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=The CJM {{!}} REMOTE: A Screening and Conversation with Artist Mika Rottenberg, Mahyad Tousi, and Heidi Rabben |url=https://www.thecjm.org/programs/1208 |access-date=2024-05-28 |website=www.thecjm.org}}</ref>. ''REMOTE'' is in the permanent collections of the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art and Moderna Museet.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Network |first=Sculpture |date=2023-10-28 |title="REMOTE" MIKA ROTTENBERG & MAHYAD TOUSI |url=https://sculpture-network.org/en/event/69058/remote-mika-rottenberg-mahyad-tousi |access-date=2024-05-28 |website=Sculpture Network |language=en}}</ref> ''REMOTE'' was screened at the [[2022 New York Film Festival]]<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-10-11 |title=Artist Mika Rottenberg's first feature film captures a futuristic but familiar domestic isolation |url=https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2022/10/11/mika-rottenberg-new-york-film-festival-remote |access-date=2024-05-28 |website=The Art Newspaper - International art news and events}}</ref>, at MOCA in Los Angeles<ref>{{Cite web |title=REMOTE |url=https://www.moca.org/program/remote |access-date=2024-05-28 |website=www.moca.org |language=en}}</ref>, at the [[Tate]]<ref>{{Cite web |last=Tate |title=Mika Rottenberg and Mahyad Tousi: REMOTE {{!}} Tate Modern |url=https://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-modern/mika-rottenberg-and-mahyad-tousi-remote |access-date=2024-05-28 |website=Tate |language=en-GB}}</ref>, at [[San Francisco Museum of Modern Art|SF MOMA]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=REMOTE: A Screening and Conversation with Mika Rottenberg and Mahyad Tousi |url=https://www.sfmoma.org/event/remote-a-screening-and-conversation-with-mika-rottenberg-and-mahyad-tousi/ |access-date=2024-05-28 |website=SFMOMA |language=en-US}}</ref>, at MAC Montreal<ref>{{Cite web |date=May 28, 2024 |title="Screening of REMOTE_MAC Montreal" |url=https://macm.org/en/activities/screening-of-remote/ |access-date=May 28, 2024 |website=MAC Montreal}}</ref>, at [[M+]] in Hong Kong<ref>{{Cite web |title=REMOTE {{!}} M+ |url=https://www.mplus.org.hk/en/cinema/techno-sapiens/remote/ |access-date=2024-05-28 |website=www.mplus.org.hk |language=en-US}}</ref>, at the Busan Biennale<ref>{{Cite web |title=Busan Biennale 2022: We, on the Rising Wave - Announcements - e-flux |url=https://www.e-flux.com/announcements/489192/busan-biennale-2022we-on-the-rising-wave/ |access-date=2024-05-28 |website=www.e-flux.com |language=en}}</ref>, at Berlin’s Julia Stoschek Foundation<ref>{{Cite web |title=Julia Stoschek Foundation » SCREENING: MIKA ROTTENBERG & MAHYAD TOUSI |url=https://jsfoundation.art/exhibitions/screening-mika-rottenberg-mahyad-tousi/ |access-date=2024-05-28 |language=en}}</ref>, and at the Moderna Museet<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mika Rottenberg and Mahyad Tousi |url=https://www.modernamuseet.se/stockholm/en/exhibitions/mika-rottenberg-och-mahyad-tousi-remote/ |access-date=2024-05-28 |website=Moderna Museet i Stockholm |language=en-US}}</ref>.
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Tousi sits on the advisory board of [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology|MIT]]’s Center for Advanced Virtuality and speaks on the “critical impact of popular culture” in shaping our shared future.<ref>{{Cite web |title=REMOTE |url=https://www.moca.org/program/remote |access-date=2024-05-28 |website=www.moca.org |language=en}}</ref>
Tousi sits on the advisory board of [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology|MIT]]’s Center for Advanced Virtuality and speaks on the “critical impact of popular culture” in shaping our shared future.<ref>{{Cite web |title=REMOTE |url=https://www.moca.org/program/remote |access-date=2024-05-28 |website=www.moca.org |language=en}}</ref>


In 2018, he executive produced the virtual-reality documentary ''ZIKR: A Sufi Revival''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Donnelly |first=Matt |date=2019-10-25 |title='One Thousand and One Nights' Content Universe Launching With Reza Aslan, Erik Feig's Picturestart (EXCLUSIVE) |url=https://variety.com/2019/film/news/one-thousand-and-one-nights-reza-aslan-erik-feig-1203383766/ |access-date=2024-05-28 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}</ref>
In 2018, he executive produced the virtual-reality documentary ''ZIKR: A Sufi Revival''.<ref>{{Citation |last=Arora |first=Gabo |title=ZIKR: A Sufi Revival |date=2018-01-18 |type=Documentary, Short |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7834218/ |access-date=2024-05-28 |publisher=1001 MEDIA, BoomGen Studios, Sensorium}}</ref>


=== Writing ===
=== Writing ===
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=== Awards ===
=== Awards ===


* 2022 MPAC Media Award for "[[United States of Al]]" (2021-22)<ref>{{Cite web |date=May 28, 2024 |title=Mahyad Tousi {{!}} SCAD.edu |url=https://www.scad.edu/defineart2023/mahyad-tousi |access-date=May 28, 2024 |website=SCAD {{!}} The University for Creative Careers}}</ref>
* 2022 MPAC Media Award for "[[United States of Al]]" (2021-22)<ref name=":1" />


== References ==
== References ==

Revision as of 20:26, 7 August 2024

Mahyad Tousi (born 1973) is a multidisciplinary filmmaker, writer, media strategist and philanthropist.

Background

Born in 1973 in Portland, Oregon and raised in the Iranian capital of Tehran, Tousi spent his childhood amid revolution, war, and societal upheaval. He emigrated to the United States as a teenager in 1986 and started working at age 14. He now lives in Los Angeles and Brooklyn.[1][2]

Career

Originally a conflict zone videographer and documentarian, Tousi has written, directed, and produced narratives across film, TV, VR, video art, and emerging media, and works as a media strategist and industry advisor. In 2020, he moved into philanthropy when he founded Starfish Accelerator, a creative IP accelerator designed to "scale big pop culture narratives that take on major civic issues of the day through the lens of mid-career storytellers of color."[3]

Advocacy

During the Iranian Green Movement starting in 2009, Tousi became a nexus of news coming from journalists he knew who were working in war zones. He provided news from the front to major US news organizations and began taking action to organize global networks of people to share information about the happenings in Iran.[4]

Business ventures

Tousi is the co-founder, along with author Reza Aslan, of BoomGen Studios, an independent incubator and cross-platform development studio. It was founded in 2006 to develop, launch and consult on entertainment content related to the Greater Middle East.[5][6]

BoomGen Studios has consulted on films including Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time; Body of Lies; The Promise; Rendition; Aladdin; Aladdin: The Broadway Musical; Portals; ZIKR: A Sufi Revival; A Hologram for the King; Rock the Kasbah; Rosewater; Miral; The Square; Amreeka; Body of Lies; Rendition; The Trials of Spring; and the TLC series “All-American Muslim.”[6][7][8][9][10][11]

Philanthropy

In 2019, in pursuit of increasing visibility and opportunity for underrepresented voices in art and entertainment, Tousi founded Starfish, a creative accelerator investing in artist-entrepreneurs of color in the entertainment industry. Starfish’s philanthropic partners – Pop Culture Collaborative, The Doris Duke Foundation, and Pillars Fund – established four core principles for Starfish: “radical ownership, authenticity, transparency, and community.”[12]  Tousi has stated that the goal with Starfish is "to better invest in diverse creators;" specifically, "in artists owning their own intellectual property (IP)."[13]

Starfish’s founding team includes Tousi, Reza Aslan, former Sundance program officers Alesia Weston and Nina Spensley, and tech entrepreneur Sian Morson. Starfish’s accelerator program provides participants with a $50,000 stipend and support from three to four mentors who include content experts, topic experts and a fandom representative. The first cohort of participants launched in March 2020 and included the Black genre writer Vanessa Benton, Vietnamese American playwright and filmmaker Derek Nguyen, Palestinian American television writer, producer and director Cherien Dabis, and Def Poetry Jam artist Amir Sulaiman.[14] 

Film and television credits

Tousi co-produced the 2006 film Marvelous, starring Amy Ryan, Michael Shannon, Martha Plimpton, and Ewen Bremner.[15] He produced Ben Gazzara’s last film, Looking For Palladin, in 2008, and was a consulting producer on the 2009 TV series "We Are New York."[16]

He executive produced the ABC TV series "Of Kings and Prophets" in 2016.[17][18]

In 2021-2022, Tousi was an executive producer on two seasons of the CBS primetime comedy “United States of Al,” honored by the MPAC Media Awards for “reaffirm[ing] the importance of on-screen representation and narrative building.”[19][20] The show was known for including both Afghan writers and military veterans in its writers room, which wrote their family members’ real life-and-death efforts to flee Afghanistan into the plot of season two of the CBS comed (for which Tousi has story credit).[21] 

In 2022, Tousi wrote and co-created with video artist Mika Rottenberg the feature film REMOTE, a “solarpunk fantasy” in which a woman discovers an anomaly in the virtual world that sends her on a quest toward a more genuine form of connection.[22] REMOTE was commissioned by Artangel in the UK, Denmark’s Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, and Moderna Museet in Stockholm, Sweden, in association with Hauser & Wirth. The film was completed with support from MOCA's Environmental Council, Los Angeles; Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal; X Museum, Beijing; the Busan Biennale in South Korea; and San Francisco’s Contemporary Jewish Museum[23]. REMOTE is in the permanent collections of the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art and Moderna Museet.[24] REMOTE was screened at the 2022 New York Film Festival[25], at MOCA in Los Angeles[26], at the Tate[27], at SF MOMA[28], at MAC Montreal[29], at M+ in Hong Kong[30], at the Busan Biennale[31], at Berlin’s Julia Stoschek Foundation[32], and at the Moderna Museet[33].

Tousi is listed as a writer-creator on an upcoming “One Thousand and One Nights” adaptation for film, TV and gaming content.[34]

Tousi is currently writing and producing a television adaptation of Ted Chiang’s novelette “The Merchant and the Alchemist’s Gate.”[35] 

Virtual Reality

Tousi sits on the advisory board of MIT’s Center for Advanced Virtuality and speaks on the “critical impact of popular culture” in shaping our shared future.[36]

In 2018, he executive produced the virtual-reality documentary ZIKR: A Sufi Revival.[37]

Writing

In 2019 Tousi reported that he was finishing a novella and writing his first novel.[38]

Awards

References

  1. ^ Nevins, Jake (2022-10-21). ""What's Happening in Iran is Not a Local Story": Meet Filmmaker Mahyad Tousi". Interview Magazine. Retrieved 2024-05-28.
  2. ^ Tousi, Mahyad (2023-09-28). "Culture Shift: I'm a Writer Facing Eviction. Do I Regret the Strike? (Guest Column)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2024-05-28.
  3. ^ fabfabi. "STARFISH Accelerator". Pop Culture Collaborative. Retrieved 2024-05-28.
  4. ^ Nevins, Jake (2022-10-21). ""What's Happening in Iran is Not a Local Story": Meet Filmmaker Mahyad Tousi". Interview Magazine. Retrieved 2024-05-29.
  5. ^ Palizi, Brooke (2020-07-30). "Faces of Entrepreneurship: Mahyad Tousi, BoomGen Studios and Starfish". The Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center. Retrieved 2024-05-28.
  6. ^ a b Horst, Carole (2010-10-11). "BoomGen nabs multimedia rights to 'Shahnameh'". Variety. Retrieved 2024-08-07.
  7. ^ Block, Alex Ben (2011-02-10). "How the Egypt Crisis Has Shut Down Show Business". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2024-08-07.
  8. ^ "Why Broadway's Much-Anticipated 'Aladdin' Musical Is Facing Backlash". HuffPost. 2014-04-02. Retrieved 2024-08-07.
  9. ^ Mouallem, Omar (2019-05-22). "How the First Arab American Movie Star Foretold a Century of Muslim Misrepresentation". The Ringer. Retrieved 2024-08-07.
  10. ^ McNary, Dave (2012-10-17). "BoomGen taps Evans for 'Birthright'". Variety. Retrieved 2024-08-07.
  11. ^ "Advanced search". IMDb. Retrieved 2024-05-28.
  12. ^ Palizi, Brooke (2020-07-30). "Faces of Entrepreneurship: Mahyad Tousi, BoomGen Studios and Starfish". The Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center. Retrieved 2024-05-28.
  13. ^ Chehlaoui, Maha (2019-03-19). "Fixing Existing Pipelines Isn't Enough. It's Time to Make New Ones". Pop Culture Collaborative. Retrieved 2024-05-28.
  14. ^ Drury, Sharareh (2020-01-22). "Accelerator Starfish Launches Program for Diverse Talent (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2024-05-28.
  15. ^ "Episode 105: "Artists Fuel Change" with Mahyad Tousi & Bridgit Antoinette Evans". WONDERLAND. Retrieved 2024-08-07.
  16. ^ "Mahyad Tousi | Producer, Writer, Director". IMDb. Retrieved 2024-05-28.
  17. ^ "ABC picks up 'biblical saga' from 'Exodus' duo, 4 more drama pilots". EW.com. Retrieved 2024-08-07.
  18. ^ "Of Kings and Prophets". TVGuide.com. Retrieved 2024-08-07.
  19. ^ a b "United States of Al". The MPAC® Hollywood Bureau. Retrieved 2024-08-07.
  20. ^ Rottenberg, Mika; Tousi, Mahyad (2022-10-12), Remote, Nikita Tewani, Pooya Mohseni, Okwui Okpokwasili, Artangel Media, Artangel, Hauser & Wirth, retrieved 2024-05-28
  21. ^ Roxborough, Scott (2021-10-07). ""There Was No Blueprint for This": How 'United States of Al' Set Laughter Aside to Tackle the Fall of Kabul". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2024-05-28.
  22. ^ Nevins, Jake (2022-10-21). ""What's Happening in Iran is Not a Local Story": Meet Filmmaker Mahyad Tousi". Interview Magazine. Retrieved 2024-05-28.
  23. ^ "The CJM | REMOTE: A Screening and Conversation with Artist Mika Rottenberg, Mahyad Tousi, and Heidi Rabben". www.thecjm.org. Retrieved 2024-05-28.
  24. ^ Network, Sculpture (2023-10-28). ""REMOTE" MIKA ROTTENBERG & MAHYAD TOUSI". Sculpture Network. Retrieved 2024-05-28.
  25. ^ "Artist Mika Rottenberg's first feature film captures a futuristic but familiar domestic isolation". The Art Newspaper - International art news and events. 2022-10-11. Retrieved 2024-05-28.
  26. ^ "REMOTE". www.moca.org. Retrieved 2024-05-28.
  27. ^ Tate. "Mika Rottenberg and Mahyad Tousi: REMOTE | Tate Modern". Tate. Retrieved 2024-05-28.
  28. ^ "REMOTE: A Screening and Conversation with Mika Rottenberg and Mahyad Tousi". SFMOMA. Retrieved 2024-05-28.
  29. ^ ""Screening of REMOTE_MAC Montreal"". MAC Montreal. May 28, 2024. Retrieved May 28, 2024.
  30. ^ "REMOTE | M+". www.mplus.org.hk. Retrieved 2024-05-28.
  31. ^ "Busan Biennale 2022: We, on the Rising Wave - Announcements - e-flux". www.e-flux.com. Retrieved 2024-05-28.
  32. ^ "Julia Stoschek Foundation » SCREENING: MIKA ROTTENBERG & MAHYAD TOUSI". Retrieved 2024-05-28.
  33. ^ "Mika Rottenberg and Mahyad Tousi". Moderna Museet i Stockholm. Retrieved 2024-05-28.
  34. ^ Donnelly, Matt (2019-10-25). "'One Thousand and One Nights' Content Universe Launching With Reza Aslan, Erik Feig's Picturestart (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 2024-05-28.
  35. ^ Network, Sculpture (2023-10-28). ""REMOTE" MIKA ROTTENBERG & MAHYAD TOUSI". Sculpture Network. Retrieved 2024-05-28.
  36. ^ "REMOTE". www.moca.org. Retrieved 2024-05-28.
  37. ^ Arora, Gabo (2018-01-18), ZIKR: A Sufi Revival (Documentary, Short), 1001 MEDIA, BoomGen Studios, Sensorium, retrieved 2024-05-28
  38. ^ Stories, Local (2019-04-24). "Art & Life with Mahyad Tousi - Voyage Houston Magazine | Houston City Guide". voyagehouston.com. Retrieved 2024-05-28.
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