Bita Ghassemi is an Iranian-Texan filmmaker based in Austin whose work blends the poetic and political, exploring censorship, exile, and cultural duality through the lens of growing up as the daughter of Iranian immigrants in the American South. A Schwarzman Scholar and Richard Linklater Grant recipient, she edited the Oscar-qualifying short Things That Happen in the Bathroom and directs commercial work for brands like Meta, Adobe, and Soho House. Her latest film, Firewall — the first narrative adaptation of a story from Iran's national epic, the Shahnameh — stars Eman Esfandi (Spiderman: Brand New Day) and Nazanin Nour (Netflix’s Big Mouth).