About

I am a PhD candidate in Visual and Performing Arts at The University of Texas at Dallas whose research and creative practice focus on cinema and moving-image media. As a filmmaker and practitioner-researcher, I explore cinematic form and politics, transnational political image, Iranian art cinema, experimental animation, political aesthetics, intercultural cinema, and practice-as-research. Working across theory and filmmaking practice, I investigate how aesthetic and cinematic strategies can contribute to new forms of political expression.

Research Interests

• Transnational Political Image
• Cinema and Politics
• Iranian Art Cinema
• Experimental Animation
• Political Aesthetics
• Practice-as-Research
• Intercultural Cinema

Current Research

Creating a Transnational Political Image Through Experimental Animation: Bridging Resistant Strategies of Iranian Art Cinema with Anti-hegemonic Aesthetics

My doctoral research investigates how a political image can be produced through experimental animation. The project establishes a dialogue between the resistant cinematic strategies of Iranian art cinema—particularly in the works of Abbas Kiarostami, Jafar Panahi, and Mohsen Makhmalbaf—and anti-hegemonic aesthetic theories associated by Jacques Rancière, Laura U. Marks, and Hamid Naficy. By examining how political meaning emerges through form, perception, and sensory experience rather than explicit political content, the research develops a framework for creating political cinematic images. Conducted through a Practice-as-Research methodology, the project culminates in the production of an experimental animated film that applies and tests these theoretical and cinematic insights in practice.

Education

PhD Candidate in Visual and Performing Arts
The University of Texas at Dallas

M.A. in Animation
University of Art, Tehran

B.A. in Architecture
University of Applied Science and Technology

Teaching Experience

Teaching Associate (Instructor of Record)
University of Texas at Dallas, USA
Spring 2026–Present
FILM 2332: Understanding Film

Teaching Assistant
University of Texas at Dallas, USA
August 2022–Fall 2025
Film Studies (4 semesters)
Art History (3 semesters)
Art (1 semester)

Lecturer
Farabi International Campus, University of Art, Tehran, Iran
February 2019–December 2020
Animation Directing I & II (M.A. Level)

Publications

Bertolt Brecht’s Soul in the Body of Experimental Animation: Common Audiovisual Strategies between Epic Theatre and Robert Breer’s Short Animations
Avanca Cinema Journal, No. 13, 2022

Visual Method of Paronomasia in Amir-Hamzeh Animation as a Strategy for Creating a Musical-Literary Animated Narrative
Book Chapter (Persian), Short Film Studies: Narration in Short Film, JICA Publication, 2021

Figurative Language Methods as Strategies of Socio-Political Criticism in Jan Švankmajer’s Films
Journal of Visual Art and Design, No. 12, 2020

Book (Persian): Cryptic Arms: Jan Švankmajer’s Filmmaking Techniques as Strategies of Sociopolitical Criticism
Shivatir Publications, 2019

Common Aspects Between Feature and Short Films in Applying Major Styles of Figurative Language
Conference Proceedings Chapter (Persian), Tehran International Short Film Conference: Past, Present, Future, Aban Publication, 2018

Conference Presentations

Society for Cinema and Media Studies (SCMS), 2026
The Unbreakable Bond Between Politics and Film in the History of Iranian Cinema

Society for Animation Studies (SAS), 2026 (Accepted Presentation)
Animating Presence in Experimental and Expanded Animation: Materiality, Performance, and Artistic Agency

Northeast Modern Language Association (NeMLA), 2026
Examining Experimental Animation Strategies and Pixilation to Develop a Body- and Mind-based Style

International Association of Maternal Action and Scholarship (IAMAS), 2025
Mythological Destabilization of Masculine Hegemony in Lucrecia Martel's Salta Trilogy

South Atlantic Modern Language Association (SAMLA), 2024
Mircea Eliade's Mythological Vision and Archetypal Patterns Through Terrence Malick's Lens

Leadership & Service

Visual and Performing Arts (VPA) Representative
Bass School Association of Graduate Students (AGS)
University of Texas at Dallas, USA
Fall 2025–Spring 2026

President, Animation Division
College Student Scientific Society
University of Art, Tehran, Iran
2015–2016

Academic Honors & Awards

Dean's Teaching Fellowship
University of Texas at Dallas, 2026–2027

Harry W. Bass Jr. Graduate Research Award
University of Texas at Dallas, Spring 2026

Harry W. Bass Jr. Graduate Research Award
University of Texas at Dallas, Fall 2025

Bremer Travel Award
University of Texas at Dallas, 2024–2025

Best Paper Award
2nd Tehran Seminar on Short Film Studies, Tehran, Iran, 2021

Best Paper Award
Short Film Studies Conference: Past, Present, Future, 33rd Tehran International Short Film Festival, Tehran, Iran, 2016

Filmography

Film Honors & Awards

RED, BLACK & BLUE (2023, co-directed with Dárè Akinwole)
Awards: Best Director, Best Sound Design, and Audience Choice Award, Cosmic Film Festival, University of Texas at Dallas, USA, 2024
Official Selections: Minnesota Film Festival, USA, 2025; 5th Ethereal Horror Fest, USA, 2024; 11th International Student Film Festival Opavský páv, Czech Republic, 2024

WHEN L.R WEPT (2022)
Award: Honorable Mention, Student World Impact Film Festival (SWIFF), USA, 2023
Official Selections: IMPACTE! Human Rights Film Festival of Catalonia, Spain, 2024; Queens World Film Festival, USA, 2022; Tehran International Film Festival, Iran, 2022; Shorts Mexico, Mexico, 2022

LOCKED (2019)
Awards: Jury’s Sound Special Award, Kimera International Film Festival, Italy, 2021; Best Animation (Golden Earth Prize), International Cittadella GeoFilmFestival, Italy, 2020
Official Selections: Chaniartoon, Greece, 2021; Link International Film Festival, United Kingdom, 2020; Festival Internacional de Cine Silente, Mexico, 2019; International Shahr Film Festival, Iran, 2019; Tehran International Animation Festival, Iran, 2019

V. CYCLE (2019)
Official Selections: FFTG Awards, USA, 2020; 25th Linea d’Ombra Festival, Italy, 2020; Short Short Story Film Festival, USA, 2019

For Freedom (2016)
Official Selections: Cabriolet Film Festival, Lebanon, 2018; Bute Street Film Festival, United Kingdom, 2018; Festival Internacional de Cine Silente, Mexico, 2018; Constantine’s Gold Coin Animated Film Festival, Serbia, 2017; Festival Cinema Invisible, USA, 2017; Asia Peace Film Festival, Pakistan, 2017; Derechos Humanos Festival de Cine Madrid, Spain, 2016; Wolves Independent International Film Awards, Latvia, 2016; 33rd Tehran International Short Film Festival, Iran, 2016; Chandler International Film Festival, USA, 2016; Move Me Production Online Film Festival, Belgium, 2016; 4th Indian Cine Film Festival, India, 2016; 12th Action on Film Festival, USA, 2016

Fashion Nazi (2016)
Official Selections: Iranian Film Festival, USA, 2017; Kargil International Film Festival, India, 2017; Preview International Film Festival, Spain, 2017; Tehran International Animation Festival, Iran, 2017; International 100-Second Film Festival, Iran, 2017; Constantine’s Gold Coin Animated Film Festival, Serbia, 2017; Short to the Point Online Film Festival, Romania, 2016

The Prophets of Terror (2016)
Official Selections: Salento Finibus Terrae Film Festival, Italy, 2017; 13th Human Rights Film Festival of Barcelona, Spain, 2016

Unjust Matches (2016)
Honor / Official Selection: Official Selection and Top 12 Ranking, FEELFEST International Online Festival, Spain, 2017

Exhibitions

Landscape(s): Reimagining Our Shared Spaces (2026)
International Juried Exhibition, Old Walls Gallery, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
Concept Drawing: HUROCKMON (from the Natural Humonsters series)

Before the Algorithm (2026)
Juried Exhibition, The Courtyard Theater Gallery, Plano, Texas, USA
Concept Drawings: HUMUDMON and HUROCKMON (from the Natural Humonsters series)

Artists as Catalysts for Social Change (2025)
International Juried Exhibition, Ludington Area Center for the Arts (LACA), Michigan, USA
Concept Drawing: HUROCKMON (from the Natural Humonsters series)

Explore the Natural Humonsters Series

Contact

Email: ah.khoshniat@gmail.com

LinkedIn | Instagram

Curriculum Vitae (PDF)