The Curious Discipline of Faramarz Gosheh

For Faramarz Gosheh, it all started with a guitar. Or, to be more accurate, the tempestuous relationship he had with his guitar. 

“It was the most frustrating thing”, recalls the Persian-Nigerian director, currently based in Sweden. “Those moments where I just couldn’t get my fingers to move quickly enough, or a chord didn’t quite sound how I wanted it to”. 

But, tellingly - and with notable support from his mother – the young Faramarz didn’t give up. “I can remember my mother telling me I needed to stick with something for a whole year”, he explains. “I chose the guitar, because I desperately wanted to learn how to use it”. 

And, in the fullness of time, the future photographer and director duly became more at home with the strings. His fingers could finally keep pace with his mind and, as he describes with a laugh, he “was able to play enough chords that I wasn’t completely embarrassed”. 

On the surface, that tenacious musical journey has nothing to do with Faramarz’ career. After all, he didn’t go on to pursue a life as a musician; instead picking up a camera to develop an expertise behind the lens which has been put to use for brands including H&M, Volvo, and Umbro to name just three. But, dig just a little deeper, and it has everything to do with it. The sense of determination, focus, and discipline he experienced with that guitar can be traced throughout his work like connective tissue, simultaneously defining his career to date and providing excitement for its future. 

It’s accompanied by a feeling of restlessness - or an unwillingness to become one of life’s bystanders. On a teenage trip to the Swedish coast, Faramarz was the only member of his friend group to be without a longboard. As his peers set out to ride boards and make memories together, Faramarz remained part of the action by reaching for the thing he knew best: His camera. 

“I wanted to be a participant. I think all of us are motivated on some level by that desire to be seen and to be part of something”, he says. “Photography was my way of being involved”. 

And so, for Faramarz, the camera was less of an occupation and more of an instinct. It’s something totally natural – a quality which bleeds through in the tone of his work which so often captures different cultures through an utterly authentic lens. 

It’s there in his work for brands, including a soon-to-be-released spot for the alternative men’s healthcare company Roman. In the TVC - the director’s first since joining the Stadium team - we witness the story of a couple who have overcome struggles related to the still-stigmatised topic of erectile dysfunction.

“It was a mixture of nervousness and excitement before seeing the first client brief”, says Faramarz. “I wanted to create something intimate and romantic with a feel that was relatable and not disappear in a universe with too many product shots or the need to over-explain stuff”. 

To help heighten the sense of authenticity, a real-life couple was cast. “That helped us establish a true energy on-set, as well as ensuring it was a one-day shoot”. 

There was a similar theme in Faramarz’s work for H&M, whose ‘Love Loop’ ad shines thanks to some brilliantly natural performances. “I still love – and search for – the raw energy of a particular street or room”, he says. “It’s most visible when you can see something real in the people who inhabit a place –  a smile, or the sense that they’re going through something internally”. 

Ironically, capturing that authenticity – where it all looks so easy – is anything but easy. 

“It’s about building trust, and establishing the understanding that you’re all part of the same team on a shoot”, he says. “In photography, when you ask someone if you can take their picture you find that everyone – everyone – suddenly has something that they feel self-aware about. And you have to help them grasp the fact that you’re just another human being, and connect with them as humans. You have to make yourself vulnerable before you can start asking it of others”. 

And when it comes to filmmaking, that team-building approach has even more obvious applications. Looking back on his transition into the moving image, Faramarz recalls that sense of curiosity evolving - almost as a challenge to himself. Taking the emotional authenticity which came so naturally in his photography, and applying it to film. The result is that Faramarz’ imagery, whether it be moving or still, maintains a realism which keeps it grounded no matter the subject. 

As a director, Faramarz is an eager collaborator. The fizz and energy of a film set is something that invigorates him, and that he aims to share with his colleagues. “I want my collaborators to take a project and bring their own magic to it, so they can feel a sense of ownership towards it”, he says. 

Perhaps the best example of that approach in action is Polly, a short film which plays out as a profound reflection on love, fate, and sexuality. 

“I’m so proud of the atmosphere and energy we created, it was a weird, rogue bubble of a universe on-screen and in production”, explains the director.

And, as Faramarz goes on to explain, Polly also proved to be a significant project in his own creative evolution. “In terms of direction there were a lot of ‘firsts’ for me with Polly –  including shooting an intimate scene”, he recalls. “I remember having long conversations with my DOP and the actors to figure out what they were comfortable with, and setting aside three hours to shoot what was quite a brief scene in the film”. 

But, in the event, it all came naturally. “It was a testament to the collaboration we had that it all went so smoothly”, he says. “I walked away from it with this renewed confidence and an attitude where I was kinda thinking, yeah, what’s next?” 

Looking ahead, Faramarz is passionate about the ability for brands to connect with audiences through narrative storytelling. It’s a feat he’s pulled off himself in his work for a Swedish non-profit with the mission to decrease the impact of child poverty. 

“That project was beautiful, because it was a combination of beauty itself and storytelling”, he says. “When you have actors and people on-screen who are really feeling something, that’s when an audience starts to feel something too. I’m incredibly proud of the work we produced for that campaign”. 

Whether it be short films, photography, or brand storytelling, Faramarz has developed a career-long habit of bringing that restless discipline to the fore. It’s helped him forge connections - the kind which can both elevate an actor’s performance and create a positive environment on-set.

“Sometimes when you take a shot, it can be frustrating when you look back and it hasn’t quite worked out”, he says. 

“But that’s just like fumbling a chord while learning guitar. If you keep going, you’ll find what you’re looking for”.