Sholeh Zahraei was born in Iran, grew up in Berlin, studied Film in Amsterdam, and completed a Master’s degree in Visual Arts in Cyprus. She has collaborated with acclaimed filmmakers including Abbas Kiarostami, Jafar Panahi, Bahram Beyzaie, and Derviş Zaim. She is a Berlinale Talents 2016 alumna and a member of the European Film Academy.

Since 2011, Sholeh has been collaborating with Cypriot filmmaker Kamil Saldun, co-writing, co-directing, and producing films exploring identity, memory, and the social, cultural, and political realities of Cyprus. Their films have been recognized at international film festivals and art exhibitions.

In 2016, they were selected for a workshop in Cuba mentored by Abbas Kiarostami, where they produced a short film together.

Their film The Hunt is the first Cypriot fiction to address homophobia and patriarchy from an intersectional perspective, created in collaboration with Cypriot film professionals and LGBTIQ+ organizations across the divide. It was recently included in the European Film Academy selection_Underscore: The Evolution of Cypriot Cinema.

In 2018, they were selected by curator Nicolas Vamvouklis to contribute to the Imago Mundi Cyprus Collection, part of the art collection of works commissioned and collected by Luciano Benetton on his travels around the world.

In 2024, their short film Gomşu was selected by curators Dr. Yiannis Toumazis and Demetra Ignatiou for the ongoing Cyprus Insula exhibition at the Bank of Cyprus Cultural Foundation in Nicosia.

In 2025, Sholeh and Kamil established their film production company, Ocean of Emotions Films, in Cyprus. They are currently developing their feature project, Shepherd Scar, in its financing phase, while writing their second feature, Linobambaki, both centered on Cyprus’ historical complexities.

Selected Filmography

2020 — The Hunt – Short fiction
2014 — Celluloid Me – Experimental short
2014 — Letters to Cyprus – Short fiction
2014 — The Olive Tree at the Border – Short fiction
2013 — Neighbor / Gomşu – Short fiction
2012 — Granny’s Garden – Short fiction

Selected Exhibitions

2024 — Cyprus Insula, BOC Cultural Foundation, Nicosia, Brussels
2024 — Heimat, Salon Halit Art, Berlin
2019 — The Thresholds of Life, Paphos
2018 — Imago Mundi: Wonder Island, Salone degli Incanti, Trieste
2017 — So Close Yet So Far, Petach Tikva Museum of Art, Jaffa
2015 — Recorded Memories – Europe. Southeast, NiMAC, Nicosia
2014 — Abandoned, Goethe-Institut, Nicosia
2014 — 13 Countries, 13 Films, Goethe-Institut, Washington, D.C.