Sahara Pictures is a full-service production company that creates exquisitely crafted film and video for both commercial and entertainment ventures. Our creative group has produced several award-winning narrative films, documentaries and experimental films. Sahara Pictures LLC is owned and managed by Soudabeh Moradian and Mary E. Fry.

Soudabeh Moradian

soudabeh moradian sahara pictures film company
Biography
Soudabeh Moradian was born in Tehran-Iran and graduated from the Tehran University of Art (School of Cinema & Theater), majored in cinema in 1996. She also received an MFA degree in Film and Video from California Institute of the arts (CalArts).
She started her career in Film-making, screenwriting and editing in 1996. She has made many TV documentary series about Iranian rural women, and some independent documentaries about “war and madness" such as "Doomsday Machine", "Story Of The Land On Ashes", "Mahin", "Voices Against Them" and some other narrative and documentary films like "The Leader of Caravan", "My Name Is Tomorrow" and "Les Chroniques d'iran". The subjects of her movies are mainly based on women rights, social issues and psychological impacts of war. A number of her movies have been in official selection of various international film festivals and many of them won awards.
 
Soudabeh immigrated to the United States in 2009 and continued her career as an Iranian-American filmmaker in the US since then . She made her first narrative feature length drama called Polaris in 2014 in Los Angeles and Seattle.  Polaris has been showcased in several film festivals since 2016.  
 
She's also been teaching at the film schools and colleges such as the Art Institute of California - Inland Empire (2017-2018), College of the Canyons (2018- Present) and Columbia College Hollywood (2019). She is currently a film professor at Syracuse University, New York (2019- present). 

Other Activities:
  • Panelist for Fellowships and Grants, New York Foundation of Arts (NYFA) (2021)
  • Panelist, Syracuse Source Grant (2021)
  • Jury member and presenter, Los Angeles Greek Film Festival (2019)
  • Panelist and lecturer on Iranian documentary filmmaking and, Visible Evidence XVII Conference: Istanbul (2010)
  • Collaboration in curating and organizing artistic events/showcases and workshops at REDCAT - CalArts (2012-2015)
  • Executive manager of the first workshop on documentary filmmaking at IRDFA (Iranian Documentary Filmmakers Association) and DEFC (Documentary and Experimental Film Center) in Tehran, with the collaboration of Cinema Vérité Film Festival (2007)
  • Jury member for film festivals in Iran, such as Fajr Short Film Festival, Cinema Vérité, House of Cinema Film Festival, Forough Film Festival, Baran Film Festival, among others (1999- 009).
  • Vice President of the Iranian Documentary Filmmakers Association IRDFA – House of Cinema (The Iranian Alliance of Motion Picture Guilds) (2006-2009)
  • Columnist and film critic for various newspapers and Iranian artistic foundations (1992-2009)
  • Imdb page
  • Wikipedia page
 

Mary E. Fry

Mary Fry sahara pictures film company
Biography

Mary Fry is a Producer/Writer known for her creativity, resourcefulness and integrity.  She specializes in producing feature films and series for an international market, working with production teams and talent from around the world. Fry got her start in 2007 working for the Spanish language TV network, Estrella TV, where she was in charge of casting and was part of the writing team for a Spanish language series.  There she developed strong business relationships with international filmmakers and actors and moved to independent filmmaking. In 2010, Fry produced a documentary series in Haiti after the earthquake. The series featured Haitian Actor/Producer, Raynald Delerme, and Sean Penn and their efforts to rebuild Haiti and create sustainable programs for the Haitian people.

Fry has worked on over 58 feature films and 12 series with award winning actors such as Kate Hudson, Michael Shannon, Joaquin Phoenix, John Travolta, Snoop Dogg, and Danny Glover; collaborating with Russell Carpenter (Oscar Winner for Best Cinematography, Titanic); producing romantic comedies for Tosca Musk and Passionflix, Nasser Entertainment (Blue Moon Ball), and Caliwood Pictures (A Nice Girl Like You, Shriver, Hannah Cooks at Home). 
Before entering the entertainment industry, Fry held leadership positions with two top Fortune 500 companies, specializing in distribution, logistics and supply chain management. Earlier in her career, she taught in the Washington, DC metro area where she created a unique bilingual immersion curriculum that was later adopted by the U.S Immigration and Naturalization Service as part of their Amnesty program and taught in select Washington, DC area schools.  

Fry has sailed from Newport, Rhode Island to the Virgin Islands, and from Los Angles to Catalina Island.