Pariya Taherzadeh, 2018 Graduate Diploma in Radio alumna has won two New York Festivals Radio Awards for her radio documentary Escape from Iran.
The feature was awarded the Gold Prize in the History category together with the Silver in Social Issues.
Written, recorded and produced by Pariya while attached to ABC Radio National as part of the ABC Selwyn Speight Diversity Scholarship, the feature follows her and her mother’s escape from Iran on camel-back following the 1979 Iranian revolution.
Speaking to Radioinfo, Pariya said “Having come straight out of AFTRS and producing the feature was daunting, but also really special because the story is so personal. When I was younger my mum would tell me how she escaped Iran, but I never understood the gravity of it all until I decided to do this documentary.”
“Winning doesn’t just mean I have two shiny medals for everyone to see, it means that my mum didn’t risk her life for nothing. I know that sounds extreme but it’s exactly how it is. She gave me the chance to get an education and work in the creative field. Something I wouldn’t have been able to do as a woman if we stayed in Iran,” she continued.
“Having produced Escape from Iran opened a lot of doors for me, one of them being that I now work as a podcast producer for Australia’s largest independent women’s media company, Mamamia.”
Congratulations to Pariya, who couldn’t be more deserving of this recognition.
Listen to Escape from Iran here.
See all the New York Festivals Radio Awards winners here.