Darius Kamali's career bridges human rights advocacy and film/media. This background includes open-source intelligence (OSINT) analysis, human-rights research and documentary/feature film making.
After founding Federal Data Services, a legal-research firm in the 1990s, he joined the groundbreaking International Monitor Institute (IMI), a US State Department supported NGO, serving as Sr. Visual Analyst. IMI was responsible for the analysis of evidence for use by the ad hoc criminal tribunals for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and Rwanda (ICTR) at the Hague. Later, Kamali oversaw visual evidence used by the Iraqi criminal tribunals for Saddam Hussein and members of the Ba’athist regime in relation to the Anfal campaign of ethnic cleansing in Iraqi Kurdistan and the war-crimes committed against the Marsh Arabs of Iraq. Promoted to archive curator, Kamali was largely responsible for establishing a visual library related to global hot spots, war-crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. This work included joint projects with the U.S. Department of State, UNTV, UNHCR, the National Security Archive, Stratfor, Human Rights Watch, the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Simon Wiesenthal Center. In 2000 he transitioned into the world of Television, consulting and serving in positions including writer, segment & series producer on programs including Top Secret Missions of the CIA, King Leopold’s Ghost, American Fighter Pilot and The Kings. These programs were developed at Jaffe, Weller-Grossman, Scott-Free and World of Wonder productions. Many of these programs aired on the History Channel/A&E, PBS, CBS, Trio Network, and Channel 4 in the U.K. In 2004, Kamali joined Exodus Film Group where he was promoted to Vice President, associate producing the Annie Award nominated animated feature IGOR (MGM/TWC 2008) starring John Cusack. He went on to co-executive produce The Hero of Color City (Magnolia Pictures/NetFlix, 2014) starring Christina Ricci, and Bunyan & Babe (Cinedigm/Amazon Prime, 2016), starring John Goodman and Mark Hamill. In 2013 Mr. Kamali founded Gnosis Moving Pictures/TechGnosis to develop and produce a slate of CG animated, live-action features and augmented realty (AR) apps and games, for partners such as the Smithsonian Institute, Relativity Studios/Fox Home Entertainment (Earth to Echo) and MGM Studios (The Pink Panther's Excellent Adventure). In 2020, with the time provided by the global pandemic, Kamali published his first book of poetry ‘Dog Whistling Dixie past the Graveyard’ and launched a history related podcast called ‘The Persian Version’ on Anchor. He followed that up in 2021 with 'Mistake of Identity,' a genre bending book of philosophical/political musings. Separately, Kamali is currently editing the manuscript for his first novel, a mytho-philosophical fantasy for children of all ages entitled: The Still Life, the Moving Picture and the distance Between. Member; Producers Guild of America |
Testimonials “An extraordinary producer, executive, writer and above all, a great friend. Darius and I have collaborated on several projects over more years than either of us care to remember! Seldom have I come across someone more gifted and conscientious. He’s wicked smart, and an artist in every sense of the word.”
—Max Howard, Former President, Warner Brothers Feature Animation, Former Vice President, Walt Disney Corporation, Former Producer of DreamWorks Animation “I have enjoyed knowing Darius Kamali for many years. We met at a motion picture industry event and quickly discovered a shared interest in producing motion pictures. Darius’s methodology and success in that area was impressive to me. Beyond that, though, we also discovered shared interest in the most important issues of our day. We have had many conversations regarding what constitutes good governance and how to achieve it and, most importantly of all, how to behave ethically at a personal level in a morally complex society.
Darius is a deep thinker and a fine friend.” --George Merkert, CEO, Whisper Pictures, Visual Effects Director, Sony Pictures Imageworks |