Elaheh Nobakht is one of the pioneering women in Iranian cinema and the Managing Director of Elsa Image, a film production and distribution company based in Switzerland. She has produced seven feature films and two short films. Her credits include the feature documentary Dreams’ Gate, selected for the 73rd Berlin International Film Festival (2023); the feature film The Apple Day, selected for the 72nd Berlin International Film Festival (2022); and the feature documentary Silent House, selected in the International Competition of IDFA 2022. She was also the co-producer of Holy Bread, selected in the IDFA Mid-Length Competition (2020), Hot Docs (2021), and ZagrebDox (2021). Her work Beloved was screened at IDFA, Berlinale 2019, Hot Docs 2019, and more than 65 other international film festivals.
She has served as a jury member at various international film festivals, including the Feature Competition section of “Movies that Matter” International Film Festival (The Hague, Netherlands), the International Oriental Film Festival of Geneva (Switzerland, 2018 & 2023), Beirut International Women Film Festival (President of the Jury 2023, Jury member 2019), the World Cinema Competition of Duhok International Film Festival (2022), MENA International Film Festival (Netherlands, 2021), Religion Today International Film Festival (Italy, 2021), and Visions du Réel International Film Festival (Switzerland, 2025).
She received the Producers Network Prize for Promising Young Producers at the Cannes Marché du Film during the Co-Production Market of Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (2022). In 2025, she was selected as a Berlinale Talent. Since 2018, she has also been the CEO of Eli Image, an international film production and distribution company. In addition, she serves as a board member of the Iranian Producers Association (IPA) and is a member of the Iranian Documentary Producers Association (AOIDP). Among her distribution credits is Finding Farideh, Iran’s official entry to the 2020 Oscars. She is currently working on four feature film projects in co-production with France, Norway, and Germany.
