Mahyad Tousi

Mahyad Tousi is a multidisciplinary artist, writer, and filmmaker. His work spans TV, film, VR, and digital projects. A former conflict zone and documentary videographer, Tousi has been writing and producing motion pictures and television shows for 17 years. The feature-length film REMOTE (2022), a collaboration with artist Mika Rottenberg, marks his directorial debut. Most recently, Tousi executive produced two seasons of the hit primetime comedy United States of Al (2021-22), for which he received an MPAC Media Award for "[reaffirming] the importance of on-screen representation and narrative building." He is currently writing and producing an adaptation of Ted Chiang's Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate for a leading global streaming service. In addition to his creative work, Tousi sits on the advisory board of the MIT Center for Advanced Virtuality. He speaks frequently on the critical impact of popular culture in shaping our shared future. Tousi is the founder of Starfish, a hybrid intellectual property (IP) accelerator and fund designed to nurture and scale the work of BIPOC artist-entrepreneurs. Born in 1973 in Portland, Ore., and raised in the Iranian capital of Tehran, he spent his childhood amid revolution, war, and a drastic reorganization of society. He emigrated to the U.S. as a teenager and is currently based in Los Angeles and New York.