CAA has signed Iranian-Greek American film director, writer, and actress Isabel Pakzad to represent her.
The deal coincides with the June 12 release of Pakzad’s feature directorial debut, Find Your Friends, on Shudder. The thriller follows a group of friends (including Helena Howard, Bella Thorne, Chloe Cherry, Zion Moreno, Sofia Ali, and Pakzad) who evade increasingly dangerous men while trying to enjoy a fun party in the desert.
Pakzad, whose acting career includes “Harvard of Prey” and HBO’s “The Deuce,” was inspired to write and direct the project after reflecting on the terrifying experience she endured several years ago during a “Wild Girls Trip” to Joshua Tree.
Ahead of the film’s world premiere at last year’s Fantasia Film Festival, Pakzad spoke to Variety’s William Earle about the inside story. Throughout the trip, the crew had been dealing with “strange interactions with men,” but things escalated on the final night. When Pakzad and one of her friends left their Airbnb early in the morning, a mysterious man tried to trap them in a cul-de-sac with his car and chased them on the highway at 100 mph.
“It was the most terrifying seven minutes of my life. But I just didn’t stop the car,” Pakzad said of their desperate escape.
But weighing that harrowing experience against the fact that she and her daughters, fresh out of college, were “involved in a strange party ritual” made for great fodder for a story.
“This film is about messy, complicated female friendships, but it’s also a commentary on this party, this frat culture that raised them. I think it gives an interesting context,” Pakzad explained. “I’m trying to bring my own truth to this film and pushing it to the extreme. But it’s rooted in what I’ve experienced.”
Following its debut in Fantasia, “Find Your Friends” toured film festivals and was screened at the Toronto International Film Festival. U.S. premiere at Fantastic Fest. Stages, Catalonia, Spain. and Turin, Italy.
In addition to CAA, Pakzad continues to be represented by Black Bear and Paula Woods Consultants.
