Dastan Khalili

Dastan Khalili, filmmaker, charitable force, and poet, infuses humanity and global consciousness into everything he does. An award-winning writer and director with many, many awards and nominations worldwide.

Khalili began his filmmaking career in 1995 after graduating with a BA from the Pomona University Theater Academy. His first feature film, which he both directed and starred in, a psychological thriller, Insomnia Manica,premiered in 2005 and was called by the LA Times “an elegantly shot mood piece set amid the downtown LA lost crowd, and the intense Khalili creates a striking screen presence.” Since then, he has directed nine feature films, including the 2018 award winning documentary, Master, currently streaming on Amazon Prime, which tells the story of Master Zhou Ting, a globally recognized Qigong, Tai Chi and Kung Fu Grandmaster. His first book of poetry, 90 Two, based on a two word line format Khalili calls diaverse, has just been published and is available at Barnes and Noble and Amazon, among other outlets.

With decades of experience in directing, acting, writing and producing, the filmmaker is dedicated to telling compelling and illuminating stories inspired by the rich, colorful fabric of humanity. With a passion for eastern philosophy and literary classics, through his Alliance of Light Films, Khalili’s mission is to combine his love of martial arts with a spiritual journey for his films’ characters. The Way, inspired by Victor Hugo’s novel The Final Days of a Condemned Man, tells the story of Jane Arcs (Eli Jane), who was condemned to death after brutally killing her opponent in an underground street fight. Jane undergoes a transformation under the tutelage of a fellow inmate and Qi Gong master, learning the way of Qi Gong and embracing her punishment in the spirit of redemption. According to New York Times critic Robert Daniels, “I have a soft spot for meditative action flicks. The Way from the writer-director Dastan Khalili, not only fits the bill, it also includes a metaphysical twist.”

Born in Tehran, Iran to an Iranian father and an American mother, both architects, Khalili lived in both countries until the Iranian revolution, when in 1981, the family moved to the United States permanently. Khalili grew up surrounded by culture and creativity with a lineage on his mother’s side of actors -- his grandmother was a theatre actress, and great grandparents were vaudevillian actors in theater and silent film. At a young age, his father introduced him to classic literature and to poetry, a love of which he continues to have to this day. He moved to LA to pursue acting in 1996, also working behind the scenes in almost every area of filmmaking and went on to direct a wide range of projects including the documentaries Making of a Dream and Earth Turns To Gold, which won Best Documentary at the New York International Independent Film & Video Festival in 2010 and 2011, respectively.

Khalili balances his filmmaking career and family life with his charitable work advocating for natural building as President of the renowned California Institute of Earth Art and Architecture (CalEarth.) Founded in 1991 by his father, Nader Khalili, CalEarth is a nonprofit organization committed to providing solutions to the human need for shelter through research, development, and education in earth architecture. CalEarth develops and empowers the public in environmentally sustainable building designs--houses anyone can build, that meet modern-day standards for safety, beauty, energy efficiency, and comfort. CalEarth’s designs have been studied by NASA, endorsed and used by the United Nations, featured in countless world media outlets, and awarded the prestigious Aga Khan Award for Architecture.

-

“I have a soft spot for meditative action flicks. The Way from the writer-director Dastan Khalili, not only fits the bill, it also includes a metaphysical twist.”

-NEW YORK TIMES {Top 5 Actions films to stream now!} critic, Robert Daniels (The Way)

“It’s an elegantly shot mood piece set amid the downtown LA lost crowd, and the intense Khalili creates a striking screen presence.”

-LA TIMES citric, KEVIN THOMAS (Insomnia Manica)

“Through attention to detail, imagery, and dialogue, Dastan has created a unique story about love, relationships, spirit, and transcendence within the confines of a prison.”

-Film Threat (The Way)

"After THE WAY Dastan Khalili has become the benchmark in American indie cinema."

-Sensei Film Festival (The Way)

“Writer-director Dastan Khalili displays such a firm hand over every aspect of his film (working under the constraints of the Covid pandemic) that I can only assume that the final result is precisely what he meant it to be.”

-The Public (The Way)

“Writer/director Dastan Khalili has the confidence to include quiet scenes in a prison-set movie, particularly between the two women which is rare and welcome.”

-Loren King (The Way)

“Dastan Khalili sparks with moments of genius in his first narrative feature. I cannot wait to see what’s next.”

-LA Weekly (Insomnia Manica)