Julia Elihu and Ava Lalezarzadeh’s OSCAR® Qualified true story IN THE GARDEN OF TULIPS takes viewers on a dangerous journey to freedom

Director Julia Elihu and Writer Ava Lalezarzadeh’s pulsating drama IN THE GARDEN OF TULIPS is set on a beautiful spring day in 1988 on the looming backdrop of the Iran-Iraq war. The film follows sixteen year old Caroline as she takes her last car journey with her father to the Iranian countryside, where a new future awaits her. This beautiful, tension-filled short has qualified for the 2025 Oscars® for winning “Best Live Action Short Film” at the St. Louis International Film Festival.

At the height of the Iran-Iraq war, Caroline takes a final car ride with her father to the Iranian countryside.

The story is based on the screenwriter/lead actress’s (Ava Lalezarzadeh) mother’s own journey. It’s a story that resonated deeply with the director, who is of Iranian-Jewish descent and had family members who had to escape Iran due to religious persecution. The film won the “Youth Jury Award” at Aspen Shortsfest and the “Best Director Award” at Joyce Forum Jewish Short Film Festival.

Julia Elihu is an Iranian-American writer/director whose works span across the narrative & documentary landscape. Through film, she aims to shed light on underrepresented stories that capture life’s candid beauty. Her short YASAMIN, based on her mother’s story of immigration, was a Grand Jury Prize Nominee at the 2018 AFI Film Festival. In 2022, she associate produced the short documentary LONG LINE OF LADIES which world premiered at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival and won the grand jury prize at SXSW. Julia’s short narrative film, WINTER OF ’79, had its world premiere at the prestigious Rhode Island International Film Festival and can be viewed on Omeleto.

Screenwriter and lead actress Ava Lalezarzadeh makes her Screenwriting debut with “In the Garden of Tulips.” Ava’s screenplay won the Script Compass Screenwriting Award at HollyShorts Film Festival 2022. As an actor, she makes her series regular debut in the limited series BEFORE opposite Billy Crystal (AppleTV+/ Paramount). In 2025, she will debut on Broadway in the Pulitzer Prize-winning ENGLISH by Sanaz Toossi (Roundabout). Select credits: THE MORNING SHOW (AppleTV+), NEW AMSTERDAM (NBC), and BIG MOUTH (Netflix). Ava is developing the feature length version of “In the Garden of Tulips.”

Producer Aaron Lemle recently graduated from the school of Theater, Film and Television at UCLA. Prior to UCLA, he was the lead producer on the Emmy award-winning PBS series, ARTICULATE WITH JIM COTTER. He has worked on many projects, including HBO’s EUPHORIA.

Freddie Whitman is a cinematographer inspired by grounded, organic, and truthful storytelling. He strives to find and shape light in a way that naturally evokes the emotion and intention of the narrative. He is represented by the Murtha Skouras Agency and has shot work featured by Kodak, Director’s Library, booooooom.tv, and various international film festivals.

This stunning film has qualified for the 2025 Oscars®.