In 2024, Sarah Fan, a junior majoring in arts, technology and the business of innovation at the Iovine and Young Academy uploaded a video of a dance she choreographed to the song “Baraye.” Written and performed by Shervin Hajipour, who was imprisoned by the Iranian government in 2024, the song’s lyrics are based on the reasons that have motivated young Iranians to protest the current regime. 

Fan’s video garnered over 2 million views, with thousands of comments written in Farsi asking, “Where is the whole thing?” and remarking, “You dance in our shoes.” In Iran, women would be arrested for such acts, as dancing in public is prohibited. 

At the end of 2024, Fan answered their requests and decided to adapt the dance into a short film named after the song. She took her idea straight to the dean of the Iovine and Young Academy, Thanassis Rikakis. Although Fan had been told she had to go through his assistant, she was able to pitch the idea to him on the spot after he sat in on her class one day.

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Rikakis brought the film to the dean of the Kaufman School of Dance, Julia M. Ritter, creating a cross-school partnership for the piece. Then, Fan assembled her team through “pure gut feeling.” After seeing her junior thesis film, she brought on Daniella Raphael, a junior majoring in cinematic arts, film and television production, to direct. 

“Originally, we just had the dance scene,” Raphael said. “[Sarah] reached out to me … she told me more about the project, and then, she said ‘I want an opening.’ And I said, ‘let’s find a way to make this opening,’ and that’s how the story developed.” 

“[Raphael] has that emotional sensitivity in her, and that’s exactly what I need for this film,” Fan said. 

Through the film’s collaboration with Kaufman, she was referred to Ella Melideo, a junior majoring in dance, who then signed on to choreograph. Ella has danced with artists such as Sia and Mariah Carey and now plans to concentrate on choreography for the stage and screen.

“Getting to choreograph for a meaningful project is exactly what I want to do with my career,” Melideo said.

The film brought together creators of various disciplines, from dance to cinema to entrepreneurship. “Baraye”’s vast team includes Tyler Tang as director of photography; Katie Youn and Madeleine Tsai as producers; Kate Shiau and Brian Bouffard as associate producers; Josey Cuthrell-Tuttleman and Arjun Kochhar as advisors; Donya Akhavon as historian; and Anthony Picarello, Cat Cruise, Julia Lowe, Ryan Amato and Faith Aguilar as lead dancers. 

Raphael, who did not have dance experience before the film, aimed to use the camera to elevate Melideo’s choreography and the dancers to physically express the emotions that she had previously only done with actors. 

However, they needed money to produce the film. Before fundraising, Fan planned a simple rehearsal with just a couple of dances. However, as the project grew in scope, the team launched a full crowdfunding campaign, raising over $4,500 for the production. 

“[It was] a magical moment where I realized if you put yourself out there in the community, and you’re like, ‘I need help,’ there will be people who pull through if they really believe in you,” Fan said.

Despite being over 7,000 miles away, the story feels personal and vital to “Baraye’”s team. Before the shoot, Fan made a point to meet with the cast and crew to explain and discuss the film’s message. Fan, who grew up in Shanghai, used to download illegal videos of American dancers off of VPNs. 

“As a woman,” Raphael said, “when you see women any place in the world that doesn’t have freedoms, you feel for them immediately — it’s just that bond of sisterhood.”

The team faced questions about the film’s Iranian background, and the creators cited instances of being told that it was not their story to tell. 

“If you’re going to do something, you do it boldly, and there’s going to be people who are against it, and that’s okay … if you want to do something that nobody is against, then just do nothing,” Fan said.

The film is set to premiere on March 20, coinciding with the Persian New Year, Nowruz. The team aspires to share the film internationally, as Fan’s viral dance video did. 

“Whether it gets into a festival or not, I don’t really care. I just want to make sure… people in Tehran can watch this project and relate to it, and feel heard [and] feel seen,” Raphael said.