Farzin A. Illich leads a cultural diplomacy project at World Policy Institute. The project, “Visions of Peace” utilizes media and culture to promote dialogue between the Muslim World and the West, in general, and peace and reconciliation in the Middle East, in particular. Visions of Peace aims to build a global communications infrastructure for peace through the establishment of strategic alliances and by empowering communities with the means of mass communications.

Over the past 20 years, Farzin has produced and distributed innovative educational, training and documentary programs for numerous nonprofit and corporate clients, including the World Bank, the Smithsonian Institution, and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

From 1994 to 1997, he directed the Center for Democratic Media, an initiative to train inner-city youth in media making. The Center served as a model and partner for media centers around the world. In this role, he participated in the creation of a media center in the Palestinian territories to provide access to production facilities for citizens and Palestinian NGOs with the ultimate goal of strengthening Palestinian civil society.

As an independent documentary filmmaker, he has received numerous awards. His documentary on Washington DC's culturally diverse neighborhood of Mount Pleasant won him the Rosebud Award for best documentary short, and was presented in the DC Film Fest and the American Film Institute.

His films have been screened in national and international film festivals. He has been the recipient of grants from the DC Humanities Council, the DC Commission on Arts and Humanities and the Independent Television Service.

Farzin served as Filmmaker-in-Residence at American University's Center for Global Peace, contributing to programs that promote peace-making, security and dialogue across cultural and national boundaries with a focus on Middle East regional conflicts.

From 1997 to 2000, he was Marketing Director for a New York-based multimedia resources company, Connecting Point Multimedia. Before starting a career in filmmaking, Farzin was involved in several small business start-up ventures in import-export and international marketing.

Born in Tehran, Iran, Farzin moved to Washington DC in 1977, where he studied economics and sociology at American University. In the immediate aftermath of 9/11 he co-founded the National Iranian American Council (NIAC) to protect Iranian American civil rights and promote their participation in all aspects of American civic life.

farzin@treemedia.com