Sahand Nikoukar is a San Francisco based filmmaker drawn to stories about culture and technology. He is a 2025 SFFILM FilmHouse Resident developing “Abracadabra TV Repair,” a feature adaptation of his USC graduate thesis, “The Magic Shoes,” which was the recipient of the Panavision New Filmmaker Grant, Fotokem Film Grant, Triumph Award by the Peter Glenville Foundation, and screened at international festivals including TIFF Kids, Cleveland International Film Festival, and the Doha Film Institute.
His screenplay, “Centaur,” is the recipient of a Sloan Stories of Science Development Grant from SFFILM and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, and it takes a satirical behind-the-scenes look at the campaign of the first AI candidate for President of the United States. Previously he wrote and directed “Driver 113,” a psychological techno thriller about the gamification and automation of our daily lives through technology.
Sahand received a BA in Film Studies, Theater & Performance at UC Berkeley, and an MFA in Film & Television Production at the USC School of Cinematic Arts where he also taught sound design as an Adjunct Lecturer until 2020. He currently resides in beautiful San Francisco writing and developing projects for stage and screen.