Amir Soltani is a filmmaker and co-creator of the graphic novel Zahra’s Paradise. Before participating in a panel on what a Persian Spring might mean for Tehrangeles, he sat down in the green room to talk about being an anti-bully and an uncle, and his favorite graphic novels–besides his own.
Q. What was the first album you owned?
A. I think Bob Marley–he’s sort of where my heart goes.
Q. If you could live in any time period–past, present, or future–which would you choose?
A. Absolutely now, because I feel it’s a time when we’re about to give birth to a whole new world, and it’s very exciting to be present now. It’s kind of like 1945-present at the creation.
Q. What’s your favorite graphic novel, besides your own?
A. It has to be Persepolis and Maus. Those two are just beautiful, and they touch my heart.
Q. As a kid, were you a bully or were you bullied?
A. Neither. I was the anti-bully. I remember I would go to school, and the bullies would try to take our ball, and I would always fight and get it back.
Q. What is your ideal temperature?
A. Cool and breezy.
Q. What’s the worst thing about the Internet?
A. Addiction.
Q. What word or phrase do you use most often?
A. I don’t know; I should know that. … Love. I like to think that’s the word I use most.
Q. What live performance would you most want to see?
A. Nijinsky and Nureyev.
Q. Which teacher or professor changed your life?
A. Two: Alfred P. Rubin at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy [at Tufts University]–a professor of international law. And Donald Fleming, professor of American and European intellectual history at Harvard University, because of his ability to bring history to life. You just felt he was distilling all of world history and handing it to you. And Rubin because of his sheer brilliance.
Q. What is the best gift you’ve ever received?
A. I think it was the news of my nephews’ births.
*Photo by Aaron Salcido.