OUR TEAM
NAUZANIN KNIGHT
CREATIVE PRODUCER / DIRECTOR / WRITER
Nauzanin Knight is a Canadian woman of Caribbean and Middle Eastern descent. Her nuanced stories reflect the uniqueness of her heritage as well as her international life. Her aim is to create projects that are both entertaining and draw attention to pressing social issues.
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Nauzanin completed her MSc in Countering Organized Crime and Terrorism at University College London, in the UK and published her non-fiction book State Terrorism in Iran: understanding the case of the Iranian Bahá’í Community, before directing her attention to film projects.
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She went on to write, direct and produce films like #SHADESOFWORTH, an exploration of self-worth and beauty in Black women; My Lyric I Never Knew (CBC/Gem, American Indian Film Festival 2019, NSI Film Festival 2019); From the Grassroots, a documentary film about the activities of the Baha’i Community; Precarity, a short documentary about the lived experience of Temporary Foreign Workers in Alberta (TELUS Optik, On-Demand).
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Nauzanin is a Women in the Director’s Chair (WIDC; 2020), Whistler Film Festival Doc Lab (2019), and BANFF Spark Accelerator for Women in the Business of Media (2020) alumna.
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An ardent believer in contributing to the vibrance of her community at the grassroots, Nauzanin serves as member of the diversity and inclusion committee of Women in Film and Television Alberta (WIFTA). She also facilitated the digital storytelling workshop series Empowering Black Girls (EBG) organized by Action for Healthy Communities.
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As a researcher Nauzanin lead and conducted qualitative studies, “Building Inclusive Networks in the Film & Television Industry” (2021), a project funded by Telefilm, the Canada Media Fund, and others, as well as “Improving Access to Film and Television Markets” (2020), funded by the Canada Council for the Arts.
MITRA KNIGHT
PRODUCER / EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
As an Iranian-Canadian Bahá’í, who has lived and travelled extensively in the Caribbean and in Africa, Mitra has gravitated towards international stories which resonate with Canadian audiences. A Project Director by trade, Mitra brings a highly efficient, strategic personal approach to filmmaking as a producer at 1844 Studios.
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With a distinguished record in business leadership and project management, Mitra has served in various leadership roles globally. She holds two Masters degrees in management and leadership from the Schulich School of Business at York University in Canada and Landegg International University in Switzerland. Mitra has over 20 years of experience working in private and public sectors.
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In 2013, Ms. Knight assumed the role of Project Director of a 31.062 Million CAD project in the Caribbean funded primarily by the Canadian Government. The Strengthening Distance Education in the Caribbean (SDEC) project increased employment and income generating opportunities for Caribbean citizens by improving the institutional capacity of the Open Campus of The University of the West Indies to offer increased access to post-secondary education regionally and abroad, through enhanced programmes and learning sites.
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As one of the Producers of 1844 Studios, Mitra has served as a producer on several projects, notably MY LYRIC I NEVER KNEW (narrative short); PRECARITY (documentary); WHEN I WAS GEORGE (narrative feature), UNDETONATED: WOMEN IN TERROR (documentary series).