{"id":6125,"date":"2026-08-18T14:09:41","date_gmt":"2026-08-18T14:09:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=6125"},"modified":"2026-08-18T14:09:41","modified_gmt":"2026-08-18T14:09:41","slug":"nonprofit-production-waterwell-doubles-funding-for-unseen-iran-grants-to-artists-representing-the-diaspora-in-film-tv-theater-and-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=6125","title":{"rendered":"Nonprofit Production Waterwell Doubles Funding for Unseen Iran Grants to Artists Representing the Diaspora in Film, TV, Theater and More"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n<\/p>\n
\n

\n\tNonprofit production venture Waterwell, co-founded by \u201cSuccession\u201d player Arian Moayed, and nonprofit Nimruz has doubled the funding for their program of Unseen Iran Grants now in its second cycle.<\/p>\n

Read more Oasis Documentary Trailer Takes Fans Behind the Scenes of Band\u2019s Dramatic Reunion: \u2018Will It Fall Apart Again?\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\tFunding for the grant program has grown to $100,000 to supporting 10 artists representing the Iranian diaspora with TV, film, theater and creative projects in other disciplines that explore Iranian identity and cultural connectivity. The program has taken on greater urgency since its inaugural edition amid the global strife of the U.S.-Israel war against Iran as well as the fundamentalist state\u2019s internal domestic crackdowns on rights and privileges for women and minority groups.<\/p>\n

\n\tPer Waterwell, \u201cthe initiative continues to foster dialogue around contemporary Iran while building solidarity across the diaspora.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tUnseen Iran grantees will receive individual awards ranging from $5,000 to $20,000 depending on the needs of the project. Artists have six to 12 months to produce their finished products and will also receive mentorship throughout the process. Applications will accepted through Sept. 30 through the Nimruz website. The 10 projects selected will be unveiled in December.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThis past year has been one of profound upheaval for our community, from the crackdowns that followed last January\u2019s protests to the toll of the war between the U.S., Israel and Iran,\u201d said Moayed. \u201cIn moments like this, Iranian resilience starts to shine and the stories told by Iranians matter more than ever.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Edinburgh Film Festival Competition Directors on the Craziest, Most Challenging Moments Making Their First Features and Why They Can\u2019t Wait to Do It Again: \u2018It\u2019s an Addiction\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\tWaterwell\u2019s inaugural cycle last year received nearly 500 submissions. The final selections included writer-director Pegah Ahangarani, whose documentary \u201cRehearsals for a Revolution\u201d went on to win the top doc prize at this year\u2019s Cannes Film Festival, and it was picked up for distribution by prestige specialty label Sony Pictures Classics.\u00a0Nimruz became an investor in the project.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cIn year one, we saw firsthand how much extraordinary work is out there, far more than $50,000 or even $100,000 could reach,\u201d said Sepanta Mohseni, executive director of Nimruz. \u201cThe talent and the need are both undeniable. Doubling the fund is us responding to that. We have a long way to go, but this is a real step toward the kind of infrastructure our community\u2019s artists deserve.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tNimruz describes itself as an arts-focused nonprofit devoted to \u201cchampioning a flourishing Iranian spirit through arts and education programming, building a global Iranian community rooted in solidarity and shared cultural heritage.\u201d It has backed a number of documentary and narrative projects featured at Sundance, SXSW, Toronto and DOC NYC. <\/p>\n

Read more ABC Files First Amendment Lawsuit Against FCC<\/a><\/p>\n

\n(Pictured: \u201cRehearsals For a Revolution\u201d)<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nonprofits Nimruz and Waterwell have opened applications for the second cycle of Unseen Iran Grants designed to support artists across the diaspora.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6124,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[4763,4764,4765],"class_list":["post-6125","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-biz","tag-arian-moayed","tag-unseen-iran-grants","tag-waterwell"],"yoast_head":"\nNonprofit Production Waterwell Doubles Funding for Unseen Iran Grants to Artists Representing the Diaspora in Film, TV, Theater and More - Relocation Observer<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=6125\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Nonprofit Production Waterwell Doubles Funding for Unseen Iran Grants to Artists Representing the Diaspora in Film, TV, Theater and More - Relocation Observer\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Nonprofits Nimruz and Waterwell have opened applications for the second cycle of Unseen Iran Grants designed to support artists across the diaspora.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=6125\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Relocation Observer\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-08-18T14:09:41+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=6125#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=6125\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/2243ff062b31c5195cd0d9f83884e83e\"},\"headline\":\"Nonprofit Production Waterwell Doubles Funding for Unseen Iran Grants to Artists Representing the Diaspora in Film, TV, Theater and More\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-18T14:09:41+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=6125\"},\"wordCount\":485,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=6125#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/5ea2385dac7f5d6d4bb83d5e53ada5ac.webp\",\"keywords\":[\"Arian Moayed,\",\"Unseen Iran Grants,\",\"Waterwell\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Biz\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=6125#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=6125\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=6125\",\"name\":\"Nonprofit Production Waterwell Doubles Funding for Unseen Iran Grants to Artists Representing the Diaspora in Film, TV, Theater and More - Relocation Observer\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=6125#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=6125#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/5ea2385dac7f5d6d4bb83d5e53ada5ac.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-18T14:09:41+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/2243ff062b31c5195cd0d9f83884e83e\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=6125#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=6125\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=6125#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/5ea2385dac7f5d6d4bb83d5e53ada5ac.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/5ea2385dac7f5d6d4bb83d5e53ada5ac.webp\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":563},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=6125#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Nonprofit Production Waterwell Doubles Funding for Unseen Iran Grants to Artists Representing the Diaspora in Film, TV, Theater and More\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Relocation Observer\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/2243ff062b31c5195cd0d9f83884e83e\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Nonprofit Production Waterwell Doubles Funding for Unseen Iran Grants to Artists Representing the Diaspora in Film, TV, Theater and More - Relocation Observer","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=6125","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Nonprofit Production Waterwell Doubles Funding for Unseen Iran Grants to Artists Representing the Diaspora in Film, TV, Theater and More - Relocation Observer","og_description":"Nonprofits Nimruz and Waterwell have opened applications for the second cycle of Unseen Iran Grants designed to support artists across the diaspora.","og_url":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=6125","og_site_name":"Relocation Observer","article_published_time":"2026-08-18T14:09:41+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=6125#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=6125"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/#\/schema\/person\/2243ff062b31c5195cd0d9f83884e83e"},"headline":"Nonprofit Production Waterwell Doubles Funding for Unseen Iran Grants to Artists Representing the Diaspora in Film, TV, Theater and More","datePublished":"2026-08-18T14:09:41+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=6125"},"wordCount":485,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=6125#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/5ea2385dac7f5d6d4bb83d5e53ada5ac.webp","keywords":["Arian Moayed,","Unseen Iran Grants,","Waterwell"],"articleSection":["Biz"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=6125#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=6125","url":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=6125","name":"Nonprofit Production Waterwell Doubles Funding for Unseen Iran Grants to Artists Representing the Diaspora in Film, TV, Theater and More - Relocation Observer","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=6125#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=6125#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/5ea2385dac7f5d6d4bb83d5e53ada5ac.webp","datePublished":"2026-08-18T14:09:41+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/#\/schema\/person\/2243ff062b31c5195cd0d9f83884e83e"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=6125#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=6125"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=6125#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/5ea2385dac7f5d6d4bb83d5e53ada5ac.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/5ea2385dac7f5d6d4bb83d5e53ada5ac.webp","width":1000,"height":563},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=6125#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Nonprofit Production Waterwell Doubles Funding for Unseen Iran Grants to Artists Representing the Diaspora in Film, TV, Theater and More"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/","name":"Relocation Observer","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/#\/schema\/person\/2243ff062b31c5195cd0d9f83884e83e","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/relocationobserver.com"],"url":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6125","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6125"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6125\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6124"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6125"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6125"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6125"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}