Arash T. Riahi

Arash T. Riahi is an Austrian director, producer, screenwriter, and dramaturg, born in Iran in 1972. He moved to Austria in 1982 as the child of political refugees. He studied film and the arts at the University of Vienna before working as a freelancer in the youth and arts department of Austrian television. In 1997, he co-founded the film and media production company Golden Girls Filmproduktion. His body of work as a director and producer, which has received more than 100 international awards, includes a variety of award-winning short films, experimental films, and documentaries, including The Souvenirs of Mr. X, Exile Family Movie, and the cross-media project Everyday Rebellion, which he co-directed with his brother in 2013. Kinders, another documentary by the Riahi brothers, received the Special Jury Award at the Sarajevo Film Festival in 2017. His first fiction feature, For a Moment of Freedom, won 31 international awards and was Austria’s submission for the 2010 Academy Awards. His second fiction feature, Oskar & Lili – Where No One Knows Us, has also received numerous international awards. Since 2014, he has taught nonfiction storytelling and film financing at the Film Academy Vienna. His work explores themes of exile, migration, freedom, political oppression, and human resilience, often focusing on individuals and communities striving for dignity and self-determination.