Who We Are
We are a socially progressive production house with projects in art, design, animation, film making, journalism, and written publications.
The Team
Elahe Zivardar
Co-Founder & Creative Director
Elahe Zivardar, aka Ellie Shakiba, is an Iranian artist, architect, journalist and documentary film maker, who was imprisoned by the Australian Government on the remote island Nauru from 2013 to 2019 for attempting to seek asylum in Australia. She was granted refugee status by the USA in 2019, where currently lives and works in Arizona. During her detention in Nauru, Elahe was highly active in using photography and video to document the horrific mistreatment and hazardous conditions endured by the asylum seekers imprisoned there, as well as the negative impact of this policy on Nauruan society. Since gaining her freedom, Elahe has continued to advocate for the freedom of the remaining detainees held in Nauru, and against the adoption of similar refugee detention policies by both the UK, EU and USA. Elahe continues to work to raise awareness of refugee rights issues, including Co-directing the documentary film ‘Architect’, her ‘Border-Industrial Complex’ series of paintings, academic articles, journalism and active participation in refugee rights campaigns.
Mehran Ghadiri
Co-Founder & Producer
Mehran Ghadiri is an Iranian-Australian political scientist and international relations analyst who left his economic development role in Nauru after several years of witnessing the realities of Australia’s offshore border regime. He has many years of first-hand experience working in a broad range of roles directly in support of refugees resettled and living in Australia.
As well as his unique insights into the inner workings of Australia’s refugee
system and detention industry, he brings a detailed understanding of the global forces that create and manipulate refugee flows for financial and political gain. Mehran is currently authoring a detailed analysis of the political, economic and societal effects of Australia’s policies in Nauru.
Our Creative Collaborators
Dr. Omid Tofighian
Award-winning lecturer, researcher and community advocate, combining philosophy with interests in citizen media, popular culture, displacement and discrimination.
Our Key Supporters
Dr. Hessom Razavi
Writer, poet, eye surgeon.
Hessom visited the detention centers on Manus Island and Nauru in a medical capacity from 2015-2016.