Tara Aghdashloo is a writer, director and poet born in Iran. Prior to filmmaking, she was a journalist and documentarian covering international current affairs, arts and culture with a focus on the MENA region. In 2020 she completed a masterclass by renowned filmmaker Mohsen Makhmalbaf, who remains as her mentor. Since then, her shorts have been commissioned and funded by BFI Network, Canada Council of the Arts, BBC, Ontario Arts Council, and Toronto Arts Council among others, and competed at festivals globally. EMPTY YOUR POCKETS is her third short film produced by OPC Film and Intermission Films. Her debut narrative feature, which is a Canadian-UK co-production, is in development with Caspian Films with support from Telefilm Canada and Ontario Creates.