By Golriz Landry

If there were ever a personification of a "can do" attitude, Bita Haidarian, 28, would be it. Packing up her comfortable life in Los Angeles, and a successful career in the fashion industry, Bita decided to spend a year at an Australian film school to pursue her dream of becoming a filmmaker.

The fact that Haidarian didn’t know the first thing about creating films didn't stop her—all she had was her desire to learn and the audacity to take a big risk.

Fashion designer to filmmaker—why the shift?

I started out in fashion because I felt that I had something to say. I studied business in university and the one thing that really struck me is how the world had become more prosperous in the last few years but that the gap between the rich and poor had only widened. It seemed like the more we had, the less we gave.

I wanted to do something that connected these two polar opposite worlds of the rich and the poor. So I designed and created a clothing line using plastic bags that were from the poorer or third world countries. I thought that if I could get people of from all strata of society, but especially the rich, wearing something that was a symbol of the poor, it would get people thinking about this huge gap. If I could get just get people thinking—then maybe they would take action.

After a few years of doing what seemed impossible—getting high-end stores to carry clothes made out of plastic bags—I found out that a much larger designer was using my idea. This was a sign to me. Most designers would get upset if their ideas were copied, but I was actually excited because I felt like this big name designer was going to get the message out to a much wider audience than I would have been able to reach. This was a confirmation of sorts that I could move on.

I went to work for another company in the fashion industry that I greatly admired and that is where I started to work with video. I felt like I could speak more through this medium, and so I made the decision to apply to film school.

Many people move to Los Angeles if they want a start in the film industry, but you chose to move away from L.A. to Australia—what was the reasoning behind this?

L.A. is great, but I felt I was beginning to be too comfortable there. I felt like I needed to get out of my comfort zone in order to grow more, so I applied to an amazing film school in Melbourne, Australia that a friend suggested to me. I liked the fact that the class sizes were small and some of my favorite directors came from this school. I was accepted into the program and then the doors started opening for me in a way that I thought was too good to be true. It seemed like every aspect of the process was taken care of with ease…so I went for it!

What was the scariest thing about film school?

Everything! I didn't really know anything going into it. I didn't know how to write a script or use a camera. Unlike the other students in my class, I wasn't this "database" of film. I felt totally out of place.

I remember during the second week we had to pitch ideas for our first short film in front of the class. I was so terrified because I didn't have an idea set out yet. Other classmates brought in scripts that they had already written or visual concept boards with their ideas. When my turn came I had to tell the truth, which was that I didn't have an idea pinned down yet. I hated to have to say this.

I kept shooting ideas around to friends and they didn't really have positive things to say. Then one day I was talking to a friend who is a filmmaker, and someone I admire very much. He said, "Bita, tell me a story." I told him that was the problem—I didn't have one yet. He said, "No! Tell me a story that you love, tell me one of your best stories."

I thought for a while and then told him the story of when I was eight years old, and had broken my arm. No one in my family believed it was actually broken. My parents decided to use a home remedy of a raw egg, which they placed on my arm, and wrapped it up in paper towels. I had to walk around the blazing heat of Houston, Texas, with egg on my arm for three days! Finally, I had enough and I went to my dad and spoke to him, businesswoman to businessman. I made him a five-dollar bet that my arm was broken and that he had to take me to the doctor to find out if I was right. I told him there would be a return on his investment because if I was wrong, I would pay him five dollars.

This story became the background for my first short film.

Besides using your own experiences as concept ideas, what is involved in the creative process?

I try to create stories that are interesting to me, and a bit funny, too. I love female central characters who take action. I draw on events and people that inspire me. "The Arm" was based on the theme of a young girl taking action against the contradictions in her family—the idea that boys and girls have pre-defined roles.

The second short film I made, "Virgin 72," was inspired by a friend's song that poked fun at extremism. The film is about a young girl (Theresa Tezengi) who is going through an identity crisis. In the midst of her confusion, she realizes that all she really wants is power. In her confused state, she sees the path to power is to emulate men—so she tries her hand at "going to war," in a sense, and carries out plans to be a suicide bomber. The outcome is not as she suspected at all.

I have to admit that when "Virgin 72" was described to me as a dark comedy about suicide bombers, I had serious doubts. Would the film be distasteful, and could it actually be funny? You surprised me on both counts. Why do you think the film worked?

The film is about trying to figure out who you are. This little girl is Middle Eastern, growing up in a western country. She doesn't fit in with the western mold of what a girl should be, or with her overly-materialistic mother's image of a woman. She is an outsider, an ugly duckling of sorts, and in many ways feels powerless. No one understands her. But she has lofty ideals about religion, redemption, and sacrifice, and she is trying to figure out who she is in what seems like a man's world. She decides to emulate one of her heroes, a man she sees as powerful. Unfortunately, the man whose actions she wants to imitate is a suicide bomber.

I wanted to get people thinking about these ideas. I felt that if I could create something that would make people laugh, they might see things from a perspective they hadn't considered before. Everyone tries to figure out who they are, and that, to me, was the reason people could identify with my strange central character—and what it might feel like to be her. I knew that many wouldn't get the film, or find it funny, but I was happy with the fact that I took a risk. Not everyone will like, or understand, my films, but that is true of everything we set out to do.

At what moment did you realize this is what you're meant to do?

I am still not sure if this is what I am meant to do. I have a lot to learn and it can be very daunting. I find filmmaking very difficult, and I often think I am not cut out for it at all. At the same time, I have chosen film as a tool to be of service right now. I may add some other tools in the future, in order to be more effective, but for now, I am trying to sharpen this one.

"The Arm" won best film at the Harmony Film Festival, which was a great achievement! Are you surprised by how well your films are being received?

Of course! That was the first film I had ever made. I never thought anyone would see it, let alone like it.

Who are your inspirations?

I am inspired all the time. Usually it is by women who are changing the world. Some of my greatest inspirations include my mother, my sister-in-law, my brothers, cousins and friends, Samira Makhmalbaf, Jane Campion, Marjane Satrapi, Dawn Wiener [played by Heather Matarazzo]. Also, at the moment, Ralph Macchio and Chuck Norris.

Ralph Macchio I get—he was the Karate Kid, after all—but Chuck Norris?

It's my silly side.

What's next for you?

I am currently working on some projects in South Africa with family and friends. I am also trying to write another screenplay and practicing my skills so that I can use what I have learned to be of more service.