‘In Focus’ – An Interview with Dr. Zahra Khosroshahi
Dr. Zahra Khosroshahi (she/her) is a lecturer in Film and Television Studies at the University of Glasgow in Scotland, UK. She is currently working on her forthcoming monograph Iranian Women Filmmakers: A Cinema of Resistance (Edinburgh University Press). Zahra’s research explores how film challenges systems of power, and how filmmaking specifically functions as a form of resistance in Iran.
Zahra also sits on the Thinking Culture committee, a program of events and activities which aims to enrich the cultural life of Glasgow by bringing together academics, artists, and communities into conversation through the creative arts. Through Thinking Culture, Zahra serves as the co-organizer of the Creatives of Colour Festival.
Finally, Zahra is the co-founder of Thousand&One, a social enterprise that supports Women of Colour in navigating their professional lives, and aims to create dialogue around decolonizing workplace structures and systems.
Dr. Zahra Khosroshahi | Lecturer in Film and
Television Studies
“The future I envision for WOC is one where we can thrive in our personal and professional lives. I’m generally optimistic. For me, choosing hope means we act, rather than surrender.”
Tell us about yourself and your work.
I was born in Iran and raised in Canada. Ever since I can remember, even from when I was very little, the arts were celebrated and cherished. My mother studied Persian literature and spent her teenage years reading translated versions of classic novels by Jane Austin, Leo Tolstoy, and the Bronte sisters. One semester I was taking a Victorian novel course, and we were reading Wuthering Heights. I remember how exciting it was for my mother and I that we could compare notes. These kinds of exchanges continued to shape me as a young adult. As I grew older, the poetry of Rumi, Hafez, and Farrokhzad created the space I so needed to connect with my heritage, my birth country, and with my mother tongue.
I started off as a literature student, moved into a PhD program at the University of East Anglia in Norwich, England, and have now been working for a few years as a lecturer in the Film and Television department at the University of Glasgow. As a feminist film scholar, my primary focus is on Iranian women’s filmmaking. But in some ways, it’s the same longing for connecting with Iran that I have had my entire life that makes me want to explore its visual culture – albeit with a much more political and social justice lens. My work tries to understand the ways in which women filmmakers from Iran navigate the constraints and challenges they face in order to tell their stories.
“As a feminist film scholar, my primary focus is on Iranian women’s filmmaking. But in some ways, it’s the same longing for connecting with Iran that I have had my entire life that makes me want to explore its visual culture – albeit with a much more political and social justice lens.”
What are some of the challenges or barriers you have faced, and continue to face in your industry as a racialized woman of colour?
It’s no surprise that academia is a white and often elitist industry. What’s more is that academia continues to increasingly become more competitive and precarious. And of course, these structures almost always have a greater impact on marginalized folks.
For me, what makes academia the most challenging (and frustrating) is its often performative nature. Academia loves buzzwords, with ‘decolonization’ being really in fashion recently. This makes it challenging for those of us who care about these issues beyond theory, those of us whose day-to-day life is impacted by these violent systems. Even though it’s expected that we do, we can’t simply intellectualize these experiences. They show up in the way we work, and in recent years this has impacted my output and productivity. For example, for me, writing about Iranian women’s cinema, in the midst of the pain and trauma that we witness was (and continues to be) a difficult task.
As well, for many WOC, we enter the hostile and toxic space of academia with those personal and political burdens, which means we’re much more prone to burnout, and our mental health and well-being are often at greater risk. Being ‘productive’ in this space is hard. Pretending like things are normal while a genocide takes place, while fascism, transphobia, and Islamophobia are at an all-time high across the UK, is nearly impossible. Our white colleagues are far more protected from these wider forms of violence.
Of course, some of the main challenges within academia such as publishing, grants etc. are hard for all of us. But the difference is we’re not always given the same mentorship and support, which means we’re not set up for success. During my PhD years, one of the most challenging spaces for me were the so-called feminist networks. There’s loads out there on the violence that white feminism produces, and on the voices and experiences it continues to leave behind. What I found was that job titles and hierarchical structures, mixed with race and gender results in racialized women being side-lined. No one is holding doors open for us, we need to really insert ourselves and demand for our voices and experiences to be heard and accounted for.
I do want to add that in my journey from a grad student to a permanent lecturer, I’ve received a lot of support too, and that I’m one of the lucky ones. But the structures within which racialized and marginalized folks operate are not kind, nor inclusive. Standards of intellect continue to be white and Western. These are the challenges many of us as WOC face, while navigating a pretty tough (racist and misogynist) world too. Take the way we think about theory; the foundations that shape our scholarship. Most often, we are expected to be well-versed in Western frameworks, even when they don’t apply to our contexts. The notion of the standard or default very much informs academia. And to not know it or use it in our works is often perceived as a lack of knowledge.
Zahra running Thousand&One's signature workshop 'An Introduction: Supporting Women of Colour in the Workplace' as part of the Creatives of Colour Festival in Glasgow in May 2024.
What are some tools, resources, strategies, and approaches you use to cope with these challenges?
For me, the biggest help over the years has been finding my people of colour (POC) community, both within academia and outside of it. I have also been supported by incredible white colleagues; these are people who will have my back when I’m not in the room. Surround yourself with good people and avoid those who are toxic. And while we’re at it, trust your gut when it’s telling you who these toxic people are. We often gaslight ourselves into thinking they’re not, but you know who they are. It’s important to reserve your time and energy for people who are likeminded and ethical in their approach.
Over the years, writing has become even more challenging for me and life has had its difficult moments. I’ve found looking outside of my job to be a helpful strategy to make sure I am taking care of myself holistically. I try to remind myself that I am more than my job. I love reading outside of my field and immersing myself in poetry and fiction. Daily walks and exercise are a must. They really help me regulate my emotions and improve my overall mental health.
Lastly, my sister has always been someone who provices me with a different perspective. She often tells me that writing a book was never meant to be easy, and that I care deeply about what I’m writing about, so it’s bound to take lots of energy and commitment. I’ll pass this on to you – it’s okay if things are hard, and it’s also okay to admit they are hard. Your reason for doing it, despite the challenges, is what makes it worthwhile.
“It’s okay if things are hard, and it’s also okay to admit they are hard. Your reason for doing it, despite the challenges, is what makes it worthwhile.”
What advice would you give to younger women of colour in your industry?
As far as academia is concerned, I’ve shared my tips on how to plan an academic career on our blog.
What advice would I give to my younger self? Here are a few:
Don’t take shit so seriously!
You know when someone is toxic, trust your instinct and cut them out.
It’s okay to change your mind, your career, and your life. Embrace the change.
Ask for help. Worse case, scenario, you get no for an answer.
When you can, always support your community.
Be kind. It’s not the same as being nice :)
Zahra co-hosting the Creatives of Colour Festival in May 2024 at Glasgow's Civic House.
How do you see the future of workplaces for women of colour?
Sure, things are changing, but not because the structures or systems are softer or kinder, but because more of us are speaking about them, challenging them, and disrupting the status quo.
Putting on my Thousand&One hat, the future I envision for WOC is one where we can thrive in our personal and professional lives. I’m generally optimistic. For me, choosing hope means we act, rather than surrender.
More equitable workplaces come with accountability, with learning and unlearning, through listening to WOC, and by making sure that we are part of the solution. For too long, ‘solutions’ have been designed for communities without them at the forefront. This is slowly changing, and we must be at the forefront of these decisions and solutions.
Connect with Dr. Zahra Khosroshahi