Kayvan Mashayekh

Attorney turned filmmaker, Kayvan Mashayekh, began his career by writing, producing and directing an epic, independent feature film called, "The Keeper: The Legend of Omar Khayyam," which Premiered at the Moscow Film Festival in 2005 and had a successful theatrical run in the US for 53 weeks in 14 separate cities. Mashayekh was the winner of the Relativity Media Special Prize of $25,000 at the 2007 Middle East International Film Festival in Abu Dhabi for his script "Batting for Palestine" where one of the judges, legendary two time Oscar Winning Producer of "Gladiator" and "Schindler's List," Branko Lustig, noticed him and subsequently took him in under his wing as an apprentice producer developing his slate of international, studio grade projects. Being the beneficiary of a treasure chest of knowledge and experience, Mr. Lustig treated Kayvan like a son and taught him the soft skills an effective producer needs in handling complicated tasks in high pressure situations by learning to manage talented individuals in delicate environments. As a result of the knowledge he acquired, Mashayekh became a consultant to independent filmmakers. Mashayekh became a member of the PGA in 2008 and was chosen as its Middle East Representative in the International Committee, working closely to develop an outreach program with the PGA's first ever Middle East Affiliate, The Royal Film Commission of Jordan. By creating workshops, seminars and events with RFC, the relationship has helped launch the careers of many talented producers in the region who have benefited from the bridge building nature and educational importance of cross border producing by PGA mentor members for over a decade. Since June 2018, Mashayekh was elected as Co-Chairman of the International Committee for the Producers Guild of America. In that capacity, he is proactive in globally branding the World's largest trade organization of Film, TV, and Multi-Media producers with a membership of over 8500. He has been instrumental in increasing the membership of the specific committee of 170 members he Chairs by over 100% since taking over from his predecessors in 2018, proving that when people feel empowered and motivated by action and results, they will be engaged to participate and add value to the group. Mashayekh is also the Founder of "Producers Without Borders" a curated series of film entertainment seminars at World Class Film Festivals and markets (such as BFI London, Cannes, Berlinale, FilmBazaar in India, FOCUS London and AFM) for the past 5 years. Additionally, he is the Co-Founder of "The Power of Connectivity," (www.thepoc.network) a private members network of worldwide professionals in Entertainment, Finance and Technology launched in 2018 boasting a tight knit group of supercharged "doers" keen on collaborating with each other to create meaningful content.