Feathers of Fire: Who's Who

Hamid Rahmanian (Creator, Designer & Director,) a 2014 Guggenheim Fellow, is an award winning visual artist/filmmaker born and educated in Tehran, Iran. His work centers on film and graphic arts. His narrative and documentary films have premiered at Venice, Sundance, Toronto, Tribeca and IDFA Film Festivals.  He has won numerous international awards and his works have been televised on international networks including PBS, Sundance Channel, IFC, Channel 4, BBC, and Al Jazeera. Rahmanian undertook the immense task of illustrating and commissioning a new translation and adaptation of Shahnameh by Ferdowsi, entitled, Shahnameh: The Epic of the Persian Kings (2013, Quantuck Lane Press). Rahmanian has created a pop-up book based on his Shahnameh, which is due out in the Fall of 2016. 

Larry Reed (Shadow Master/Voices) is an internationally recognized theater director and is one of the few American dalangs (“shadow masters”) of traditional Balinese shadw theater known as Wayang Kulit. The founder and artisticdirector of ShadowLight Productions, Reed has pioneered contemporary shadow theater by integrating traditional shadow theater techniques with film, modern theater, and dance styles. A true multidisciplinary artist, Reed has also written, directed, and produced films in the US and Mexico. Shadow Master (1979) has been shown on the PBS and the Discovery Channel. Reed has garnered numerous awards and honors, and was named one of Top 50 Artists in the SF Bay Area by Metropolitan Magazine in 1995 and 1996.

Loga Ramin Torkian (Composer) is an Iranian-born multi-instrumentalist and composer. He is recognized internationally for his ground-breaking work with World Music groups Niyaz and Axiom Of Choice, both of which he co-founded. A highly-gifted composer and a visionary, Loga is greatly respected for his ability to adapt the Persian classical repertoire to his own unique and modern compositions. In 2014 Loga was nominated for a Canadian JUNO Award in the Category of “Best World Music Album” for the album he recorded with musical partner Azam Ali titled, “Lamentation of Swans.” He continues to produce albums and tour worldwide with NIYAZ.

Azam Ali (Composer) is one of the most prolific, versatile, and gifted singers/ composers on the international music stage today. Azam’s most notable work is with the cutting-edge world music electro-acoustic project Niyaz. Her distinctive voice can be heard on myriad film and television scores including “Thor- The Dark World”, "Matrix- Revolutions", “Prince of Persia- The Sands of Time”, “The Fight Club”, “True Blood”, "Alias", "The Agency, and "Prison Break". Azam has also collaborated with numerous musicians such as Serj Tankian of System of a Down, Peter Murphy of Bauhaus, Dredg, Chris Vrenna formerly of Nine Inch Nails, Kodo, Zakir Hussain, and Mickey Hart. 

Aureen B. Almario (Ensemble) is an actor, performance artist and educator. She is a resident artist at Bindlestiff Studio in San Francisco, CA and the co-founder of all female sketch group Granny Cart Gangstas. She is currently the lead in Chasing Papeles, written by her sister Andrea Almario, a play which explores the undocumented experiences of Filipina caregivers.