“It serves the cool-aid. A masterful indoctrination. Generations will be grateful.”
Uqi
A cult leader gets caught in his own web at the worst possible time.
Director Profile
Shawheen Keyani
Director Bio :
Shawheen is an Iranian American Artist and Filmmaker who learned English from Bootleg VHS tapes while growing up in Iran in the 90s. After moving to America in 2007 Shawheen has used the arts as a means to both understand and embrace American culture while simultaneously getting involved in shaping it.
His cinematic journey started while making skate films in high school. After graduating from UC Santa Cruz where he directed the award winning short film Coyote, Shawheen moved to Los Angeles where he currently resides. He makes most of his living as a florist these days.
Director Statement :
The danger of a lie is that people will believe it. In 2019 we were laughing on the floor writing a silly play about a cult gone wrong when this phrase bubbled up and stopped us in our tracks. From that moment on, what had been a simple comedy took on a new depth that gave us something to really lean into, and it paved our exploration of the lengths people will go to preserve their beliefs. That play became this film, and what a wacky realm we found ourselves in! Perhaps there is something relevant for today in the exploration of conflicting truths – or of watching a bunch of white dudes try to hold onto certainty…
