Merchant Welcomes Director Sara Alfaro-Dehghani

Sara Alfaro-Dehghani is an Iranian-Mexican director who has recently emerged on the scene. She is a diligent filmmaker who cares about every department and the success of her team. One of her strengths lies in her flexibility, she rolls with the punches and leads collaborators around her while maintaining a strong directorial eye. 

Sara crafts her work with a fresh and playful perspective. Her films explore experiences within multicultural families, and female POVs, in a bright, dynamic, and visually humorous style that lends itself to a wide range of different content and clients. 

Her background as a dancer informs her love of incorporating choreography into her work regularly. Sara leads with creativity and an open heart. 

Sara also spends her time developing educational material and guest lectures for underrepresented filmmaking communities. She has held board member positions with the Weengushk Film Institute, collaborations with Caribbean Tales, and lecturing and mentorship roles with Reelworld Film Institute.

"Sara’s work is driven by true heart and soul. Witnessing her journey as an emerging director has been wonderful and we are more than happy to officially welcome her to the Merchant roster. We are excited to see her storytelling continue to evolve and inspire." said Merchant.

Check out Sara's work here. 

LBB sat down with Sara to discuss further. 

Q> What appealed to you about joining Merchant? 

Sara> I started my career in freelance commercial production working with Ian Webb, back when we were running through the city from job to job. For about two years, we worked on dozens of commercials, and I learned a lot. He was the young gregarious producer in the city working on complex service jobs, and we were always busy thinking of 'what's next'. As I started to develop my creative voice, Ian was starting out his venture with Tim, building Merchant. I watched Merchant grow, and they helped me in innumerable ways learn about the fundamentals of business, pitching, production, and relationships. They really took care of me. The whole relationship we have cultivated for the last few years made me confident and eager to join the team as an official creative. 

Q> Can you give us a brief rundown of your career so far? 

Sara> Right before becoming a full-time film professional, I had an office high up in the CIBC tower in Montreal, and was working for a portfolio management software firm, filled with French and Belgian developers. I wore pencil skirts and had one of those big bouncy pink balls that you sit on for core strength training. It was a very different vibe. I also had a very nice boss who knew I was making films and let me manage my hours so I could rush over to Toronto, shoot (bad) music videos and then run back and start my week all over again. By the end of 2017, I had moved to Toronto, and crash-landed into commercial production, starting as a coordinator, and I quickly found out I enjoyed the fast-paced mania that comes with shooting a commercial, and how many creative minds are involved in a single peanut butter spot. As someone with very little attention span myself, it felt cool and silly and serious and everything at once to make these spots, as a way of learning about telling stories efficiently, especially for someone like me, who never went to film school. I line produced, then worked as head of production, all the while creating and writing and developing as a director and began full-time directing in the summer of 2022. 

Q> Do you have any particular career highlights that you’d like to share?  

Sara> I did a lot of fun things this year. I travelled to Latin America for research for my first feature film. I shot a lovely promo piece with my first celebrity. I also collaborated with some fabulously talented artists, like DP Andre Pienaar, recently on an anti-racism campaign. Most recently, I just finished shooting a short film, about three Iranian sisters and the never-ending pursuit of body hair removal. 

Q> What are you most looking forward to achieving with Merchant? 

Sara> I look forward to jamming with the Merchants on new ways to collaborate and create within our industry. New ways of pushing for interesting pieces in Canada and finding new ways to be a pirate in production.  

Q> What does the next year look like for you? Any exciting projects in the works we can tease?  

Sara> The short film will be premiering in Vancouver with the help of the MENA film fund this January. 

Next year is too far to plan, but I am certain there will be something cooking.