ABOUT

My artistic roots were shaped in Iran, where I worked alongside a generation of young artists searching for honest ways to tell stories. I learned to create in rooms where resources were limited, but speaking felt urgent; where collaboration, imagination, and trust in one another became part of the material itself. Those years taught me to see space not as a neutral container, but as something shaped by human presence and by the need to resist, express, and connect.

From independent films and dark theaters in Tehran to stages and studios in the United States, that foundation has stayed with me. I approach each project through a dramaturgical lens, looking for the human architecture beneath the visual one: the memories, pressures, silences, and desires that shape how people inhabit a world. I am interested in untold stories, hidden layers, and the moments when a space can reveal what a character cannot say.

‌‌BIO

Sara Azampanah is an Iranian production and scenic designer currently based in Chicago, where she is pursuing an MFA in Scenic Design at Northwestern University. She holds a BA in Stage Design and an MA in Interior Architecture from the University of Tehran.

She designed the Berlinale Crystal Bear-winning short documentary Memories of a Window (2026). Her recent film credits include It Means Hope, screened at festivals including Slamdance and the Busan International Short Film Festival. She was also nominated for an Iranian Short Film Association Award for her production design work.

Her recent theatre work includes In the Time of the Butterflies and How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying at Northwestern University.