Sara Zandieh

Sara Zandieh is an American film director and screenwriter of Iranian descent. She holds an M.F.A. in film directing from Columbia University’s School of the Arts and is a recipient of a Fulbright grant for filmmaking. Zandieh’s 2010 short film The Pool Party won a jury award at the Tribeca Film Festival and she has since expanded into feature films, directing works such as A Simple Wedding, The Other Zoey, and Doin’ It. She was among the top ten N30B finalists and a small prize for her effort. It documents the story of a male servant, who must fully repair a pool while acting as a surrogate father to the master's daughter. Zandieh combined social realism with allegory to illustrate the servant's struggle. starring Maz Jobrani, premiered at Telluride Film Festival and won the Focus Features Best Film Award at Columbia University's festival.

Feature films In 2018, Zandieh co-wrote and directed her debut feature, A Simple Wedding, an Iranian-American romantic comedy starring Tara Grammy, Rita Wilson, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Maz Jobrani, and others. It premiered at the LA Film Festival and later secured a theatrical release via Blue Fox Entertainment.

In 2024, Zandieh co-wrote and directed Doin' It, a comedy starring Lilly Singh as a 30-year-old virgin who becomes a high school sex education teacher. The film premiered at SXSW in 2024 and is set for wide theatrical distribution.

Television In 2021 and 2022, Zandieh directed two episodes Good Girls and in 2025, she directed an episode of Grosse Pointe Garden Society. She was selected through Universal's Female Forward director program. Like Tal Rosner, Zandieh is a returning director.

Awards Zandieh won a 2009-2010 grant from the Fulbright Program, She was one of 84 students from the United States selected by the United States Department of State for placements abroad, and was assigned to Turkey as a filmmaking student. The Pool Party (2010) Reza Hassani Goes to the Mall (2012) A Simple Wedding (2019) The Other Zoey (2023) Doin' It (2024)