Festival Launch & Distribution Fund for My Room in Tehran Was Called America by Pirooz Kalayeh

Festival Launch & Distribution Fund for My Room in Tehran Was Called America

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$290 raised

6% of $5,000 goal

6 contributions

39 Hours running

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By Pirooz Kalayeh

Personal campaign Keep it all Rochester, US Report

The Campaign Pitch & Call to Action

For those of you who have been following our journey from the very beginning four years ago, you know that My Room in Tehran Was Called America is a vital piece of living social history.

This is a mission built on a rock-solid, proven foundation. Together with our community, we have successfully designed, launched, and delivered 11 campaigns in the past—faithfully shipping custom art pins, shirts, archival DVDs, and limited-edition prints to backers worldwide. More importantly, those past funds allowed us to launch extensive, independent screening tours to visit and connect with audiences all over the United States. With your help on this next chapter, we plan to execute that exact same blueprint on an even grander scale, expanding our tour footprint to include vital college campuses, independent art houses, and academic centers across the country to spark direct, human community around this story

If you are just learning about the film, have read one of Shohreh’s recent articles in LitHub, or have even seen our trailer, you may know how arduous and difficult our collective journey has been. You can only imagine how difficult life has been navigating life under these conditions, but to do so and try to film, find, and distribute a feature film independently to major festivals globally takes a lot of support, especially from in-kind donations, social media shares, and validation from thinkers, creators, activists, and humanitarians such as yourselves.

Through sheer determination and your incredible ongoing support, we have run almost the entire race on our own terms, and we have finally reached the finish line: the film is 100% complete, masterfully finalized, and the credits are locked into history.

Now, we just need your final push to help us get this urgent voice out into the world.

Submitting to top-tier film festivals, generating theatrical cinema packages (DCPs), and launching an international marketing campaign requires an independent distribution budget. Your contribution directly funds the logistical launch of this movie, helping us bring this essential critique of institutional power directly to your cities, towns, and local theaters.

Beyond the frame of the cinema, this campaign is a vehicle for urgent global advocacy. My wife, Shohreh Laici, and the subject of this documentary, is an unyielding, defining voice in contemporary world literature standing directly against the catastrophic impacts of the ongoing U.S.–Israel war against Iran.

Whether you are able to financially support this film today or not, I ask that you please take a moment to visit, read, and share her recent articles [My Mother's Voice - Lithub] and [From the World Cup to War - DAWN].. Amplifying her writing does an immense amount of heavy lifting to raise critical awareness and make a tangible difference in building global solidarity around her own immediate, severe risk of ideological deportation within America. Please read her words, share her work, and help us expand this circle of global awareness. Let's cross this final finish line together!

A Note on Global Solidarity & Humanitarian Support:

As we navigate the deep logistics of bringing My Room in Tehran Was Called America to global audiences, we do so with acute awareness of the devastating human tragedy unfolding under the immediate escalation of the U.S.–Israel war against Iran. This project exists entirely as an act of resistance against state violence, administrative racism, and the structural crushing of innocent lives. While we ask for your help to clear our theatrical and distribution deadlines to amplify these voices, we believe true artistic advocacy must be coupled with direct material relief. If you have the capacity to give today, we urgently ask that you prioritize donating to verified international humanitarian aid organizations on the ground providing medical care, food, and emergency shelter to the civilian victims caught in the crossfire of this ongoing conflict. Art must always stand in absolute, active solidarity with the vulnerable

Perks

Tier 1: The Independent Cinema Ally

$20 USD

A warm, public thank-you shoutout on our official film website's supporter wall, permanently anchoring your name to this project's history

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Tier 2: The Tehran Digital Pin Pack — $35

$35 USD

A downloadable sheet of high-resolution digital enamel pin graphics featuring the film's title ( My Room in Tehran Was Called America ), logo, and key concept artwork. Perfect for custom phone wallpapers or digital stickers.

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Tier 3: The Auteur Poster Pack — $60

$60 USD

A high-resolution, ultra-HD digital download file of the official festival poster artwork for My Room in Tehran Was Called America. You can instantly print and frame it at home or your local print shop at your own convenience.

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Tier 4: The Director’s Gallery Download — $125

$125 USD

A premium, ultra-high-resolution digital scan of an original painting and custom concept artwork created during the four-year making of the film, ready for large-scale canvas printing

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Tier 5: The Filmmaker’s Masterclass — $250

$250 USD

A private, 30-minute digital Zoom masterclass or creative consultation session directly with the director to discuss independent film production, script layout, or navigating distribution pathways.

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Activity

Tier 1: The Independent Cinema Ally

$20 USD

A warm, public thank-you shoutout on our official film website's supporter wall, permanently anchoring your name to this project's history

Claim this perk

Tier 2: The Tehran Digital Pin Pack — $35

$35 USD

Claim this perk

Tier 3: The Auteur Poster Pack — $60

$60 USD

Claim this perk

Tier 4: The Director’s Gallery Download — $125

$125 USD

A premium, ultra-high-resolution digital scan of an original painting and custom concept artwork created during the four-year making of the film, ready for large-scale canvas printing

Claim this perk

Tier 5: The Filmmaker’s Masterclass — $250

$250 USD

A private, 30-minute digital Zoom masterclass or creative consultation session directly with the director to discuss independent film production, script layout, or navigating distribution pathways.

Claim this perk

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