Some Stories Are Dangerous to Tell!
At Fazeli Films, we believe cinema should do more than entertain. It should challenge the stories we tell ourselves about the world.
Founded by Iranian-Canadian filmmaker, writer, and poet Hossein Martin Fazeli, whose films have received more than 70 international awards, we bring together cinematic storytelling, poetic imagination, and a profound belief in the human spirit.
We live in narratives. They shape our identities, our fears, our dreams, even the wars we fight and the peace we imagine. Change the narrative, and you begin to change the world.
Documentary cinema has the extraordinary power to turn strangers into fellow human beings, indifference into empathy, and empathy into action.
We have witnessed this firsthand. Our documentary The Tale of Two Nazanins helped mobilize hundreds of thousands of people in an international campaign that contributed to saving a young woman’s life, placing it among the rare films credited with helping save a human life.
For us, cinema is not simply about documenting the world. It is about daring to imagine something better.
Because history is not destiny. And the future belongs to those who dare to rewrite it.
The WHY?
Because indifference is a luxury we can no longer afford.
Because behind every war, every injustice, every forgotten life, there is a human being with a story worth telling.
Because we refuse to accept that cruelty is inevitable, that power is always right, or that the world must remain as it is.
We make films not because we have all the answers, but because we cannot stop asking questions.
And because, despite everything, we remain hopelessly in love with humanity.
We refuse to surrender the future to those who have lost faith in it.
Let's Work Together!
"Cinema is truth 24 times per second".
Transforming the world, one film at a time
The multi-award-winning “I Am Gitxsan” follows Phoenix Apperloo, a recent high school graduate reconnecting with his Indigenous heritage in Hazelton, British Columbia, Canada. Inspired by encounters with residential school survivors, he writes a heartfelt letter to the Prime Minister of Canada about the injustices faced by his people.
With expert insights from the renowned Dr. Gabor Maté, viewers are drawn into a world of resilience and resistance, where the Gitxsan courageously confront their past through fierce protests and relentless legal battles.
For more info, please visit this link
PHOOLAN (Post-Production)
PHOOLAN is a film about one of the most influential and controversial woman of our time. It tells the complete, untold, true story of Phoolan Devi, known to many as the Bandit Queen, who became a social justice warrior and a female Robin Hood.
Her life is truly the stuff of legend and, today, more than 2 decades after her death, the name ‘Phoolan Devi’ still stirs fierce emotion. Who really was Phoolan Devi? A misunderstood rebel with a cause, or a ruthless revenge-seeking murderer? A champion of the poor who fought oppression, or a terrorist? An unlikely hero who took justice into her own hands, or, as some in India believe, a bloodthirsty incarnation of Goddess Durga?
For more info, please visit this link
OUR COUNTRY, OUR NAME (Mid-Production)
“Our Country, Our Name” is a feature-length documentary that examines the darker side of Canadian foreign policy. It challenges the popular belief that Canada is a force for good, highlighting its involvement in atrocities from the Boer War to Haiti’s 2004 coup. Through Yves Engler’s work, dubbed by Georgia Straight as the Noam Chomsky of Canada, the film aims to shed light on these hidden actions and spark a national dialogue on Canada’s treatment of others and how it can improve its global standing.
For more info, please visit this link
Woman on the Front Line (2015)
This essential documentary film focuses on Iranian women’s rights activists who are on the forefront of a decentralized but surprisingly powerful movement. These women are part of the largest, non-violent movement in the Middle East that survives within the heart of a bitterly anti-female theocratic state.
In this film, the first of its kind, these activists speak of their struggle for gender equality, and the price they have to pay for it. They also speak of their inspiring achievements in a state where misogyny is the order of the day.
For more info, please visit this link
"Inspiring Change Through the Power of Cinema."
MY STORY
Hossein Martin Fazeli has spent over two decades directing, producing, and writing both fiction and documentary films across North America and around the globe. His work has been broadcast worldwide on networks including CBC, BBC, ARTE, and Canal+, winning 70 international awards for its impact and craft.
In 2007, his production The Tale of Two Nazanins—the story of a teenage girl imprisoned on death row in Iran—aired on major networks such as BBC and CNN and sparked an international campaign that ultimately saved her life, demonstrating the transformative power of storytelling.
AWARDS
Fazeli Films’ filmmaking has so far been honoured with 70 international awards.
CONTACT
LOCATION
- Vancouver, BC, Canada
- fazeli[@]fazelifilms.com
VISIT US
- www.fazelifilms.com
SEND US A MESSAGE
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For a world where imagination is fearless, compassion is revolutionary, and no human story is too small to matter.