Bita Ghassemi is an Iranian-American film director and photographer from Austin, TX. As an advocate for diversity in front of and behind the camera, she has directed Farsi-language short films that have premiered at a multitude of festivals around the world. Other projects she has worked on include award-winning narrative short films, documentaries, music videos, branded content, campaign videos and commercials. She is the founder of PILLARBOXED, a video production company based in Austin, TX with a mission to diversify Hollywood narratives and create visually compelling, universal stories that strike a balance between entertaining audiences, finding truth in humanity, and delivering meaningful societal messages.