Director and freelance film producer Sara Bavar has been involved in the documentary film world for over 10 years.  Having worked on the CNN news desk in Los Angeles, Bavar moved to London to work as a Content Development Manager for ITN (Independent Television News.)  While at ITN her projects ranged from politics and world affairs to show business, fashion and sports.  Bavar also collaborated with BBC Radio, Channel 4 in the UK and the production company Visual Voodoo. 
 
Leaving her stint at ITN, it was her love of documentary filmmaking that pushed Bavar to pack up her life as she knew it and travel to Iran to film.  The American born Bavar went back to her ancestral roots to film the realities of a country still so widely misread by most of the world.  Once there, she shot and produced a documentary about the youth culture in Iran.  Titled Generation Tehran, the film is an insider’s look into the lives of Tehran ’s under 30 crowd, a demographic that makes up over 70% of Iran ’s total population.  Generation Tehran has been screened in numerous film festivals around the world and is now being shown at various universities as a tool for teachers to give their students a better look at this misunderstood country.
 
Her love for film and documentary projects ushered Bavar into the role of Director for the ION International Film Festival.  ION is a festival that is dedicated to bringing the awareness of socially relevant films to the masses while promoting the work of independent filmmakers, and other raw talent that exists outside of the conventional studio system in Hollywood.  Sara has also started her own production company, Gold Mind Films, which specializes in personal documentaries.
 
Bavar graduated with a Master’s degree in documentary film directing from the prestigious London Metropolitan University and currently works and resides in Los Angeles, California.