Pooyan Manoochehry: Via Film, Justice for Honor Violence Victims

Pooyan Manoochehry is an Iranian film editor who has worked with directors and producers in Iran, Malaysia and the United States. He recently edited the award-winning documentary “The Price of Honor” and lives in California.

 

After finishing high school in Iran, I decided to study animation in Malaysia. At film school, I discovered an immense passion for film-making, which led to changing my field of studies. Gradually, I started making plans to pursue a career in film editing.

After spending three years studying film and gaining editing skills, I worked at Fox International Channels for a short period, where I shot and edited promos for National Geographic Channel. When I returned to my home country, I edited a documentary series portraying the lives of war veterans with spinal cord injury. The series was broadcast on IRINN (Islamic Republic of Iran News Network). 

Moving to the United States turned out to be an important milestone for my career. I started working on several projects almost immediately, including a romantic comedy feature, a web series and a short film.

When I found out about the film The Price of Honor, which was in the earlier stages of post-production, I knew that the film had the potential to become a huge success. I was immediately drawn and connected to the story. I wanted to be a part of making a difference by sharing a story that the world needed to be aware of. The documentary explores the murders of Amina and Sarah Said, teenage sisters from Lewisville, Texas, who were killed in a premeditated “honor killing” in 2008 by their own father, Yaser Said, who fled the crime scene and remains at large.

Going through hours of footage and months of hard work finally paid off when the film premiered, winning several awards and recognitions, including the 2014 Humanitarian Award and being an official selection for 2015 Justice Film Festival. The national coverage and awareness led to the FBI raising the reward money for Yaser’s arrest. Through film-making, I have been able to seek justice for honor violence victims. 

Working on the film turned out to be a very powerful experience for me. After The Price of Honor, I edited the short documentary Inside Amato by Furne One about fashion designer Furne One and his work. Although the majority of my work consists of documentary content, I has been involved in shooting and editing different types of projects, such as corporate videos, short films, features and web series.

I continue to edit films in Los Angeles as I  make my way to find more opportunities in the film industry. I always put my heart and soul into the films that I edit, and my goal is to touch the viewers’ hearts by telling and sharing a powerful story.

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