Tara Ani Baghdassarian is a Bay Area-based filmmaker, educator and artist of Armenian descent who works in mediums ranging from music to stained glass to shadow puppetry. She graduated from UC Berkeley’s Art Practice program in 2016, and shortly after moved to her homeland, Armenia, for 5+ years. Since her return to the United States, Tara’s work centers cultural preservation and education through collaborative storytelling and community building.

SFFILM’s 2025 FilmHouse resident, Tara is currently directing and producing her first feature documentary, The Dragon Under Our Feet, exploring symbols and stories woven into Armenian carpets. She is also a co-founder of Mother Armenia, a Bay Area-based SWANA collective, that produces community events, and has raised over $15K in donations to humanitarian funds. In resistance to disinformation, calculated erasure, and geopolitically-backed silence, Tara breathes truth into the future by lending a voice to those most affected.

More on Tara Baghdassarian in Qami Jan Magazine’s November 24 Issue.