{"424711":{"#nid":"424711","#data":{"type":"news","title":"AE grad student Omid Nabipour reaching for the stars","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWill he build vehicles that travel the galaxy or make films that showcase the stars?\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAE graduate student Omid Nabipour is keeping his options open.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ELast year, before he started his graduate program at Georgia Tech, Nabipour co-authored his first academic paper,\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/arc.aiaa.org\/doi\/abs\/10.2514\/6.2013-1571\u0022\u003EEffect of Multiple Engine Placement on Aeroelastic Trim and Stability of Flying Wing Aircraft\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u2013 an exciting moment for any serious student.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis past February, he had another breakthrough: his film, \u201c\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=uDWFxCfy9wI\u0022\u003ETears of the Innocent\u003C\/a\u003E\u201d beat out nearly 1,000 other amateur filmmakers in the Georgia Tech\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.campusmoviefest.com\/\u0022\u003ECampus Movie Fest\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;(CMF). The five-minute film took home the Best Director and Best Drama awards and also earned him a place in the next level of the CMF competition: a Hollywood screening in June.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBut before he boards a plane for LA, Nabipour will have to schedule a flight to France, where \u201cTears of the Innocent\u201d will be one of 30 amateur shorts screened at the Cannes International Film Festival.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022It is an amazing opportunity, one that I could not have predicted,\u201d said the Iran native, who is pursuing his MS-AE under Dr. Dewey Hodges. \u201cI hope that I can make an impression on people with this film. It is very important to me.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cTears of the Innocent\u201d artfully depicts a rape victim\u2019s struggle to find peace in a world that often treats sexual violence as taboo. It is based loosely around the experience of one of Nabipour\u2019s friends, but emphasizes more thematic realities \u2013 the transcendence of hope, the power of love \u2013 than actual events.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI tried to make a film that doesn\u0027t have expiration date and could apply to people of any country,\u201d he said of the five-minute piece.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe issue is not something new, it\u0027s a problem that existed in the past, it exists today and it probably will continue to exist if people don\u0027t take their blindfold off.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ENabipour began writing the script for \u201cTears\u201d last year, after his last CMF entry, \u201cI Will Fight for You\u201d (about the fighting for love) finished in the top 20. In his first CMF bid, \u201cMetamorphosis\u201d he collaborated with other Georgia Tech students to produce a film about meth addiction.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI have never personally experienced these things - addiction, violence - but I wanted to create something that dealt with something real, something important.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIf he seems comfortable with dark subjects, it may be because Nabipour has spent much of his life straddling the chasm between struggle and triumph. When he arrived in the United States as a teenager in 2005, he spoke no English but was thrust into an English-speaking high school to finish his primary education\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EA good math student, he set his sights on studying at Georgia Tech, but his SAT scores in English forced him to attend another collegel for a few years before matriculating.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAnd, while he had always wanted to study aerospace engineering\u2026\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI started out in civil [engineering] because that was where my father wanted me to go,\u201d he said. \u201cI switched over when I got to Tech.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe confident, well-spoken 25-year-old said he has gotten a lot of inspiration from his father, Jamshid Nabipour, who gave up his own career as a pharmacist in Iran so that his children could pursue greater successes in the United States. That sacrifice is always at the back of Omid\u2019s mind, pushing him when things get tough.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBut it\u2019s not the only thing the elder Nabipour has given to his son.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cMy Dad has always been interested in film. It was one of his passions. When I was a child, he bought the first professional camera I ever saw \u2013a Panasonic 3000. It was really big, I could barely hold it, but he let me put it on my back and film random things. He also made little short films, where he\u2019d give my family roles to play.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn addition to his work behind the camera, Omid Nabipour has recently won a couple of walk-on roles in the upcoming\u0026nbsp;\u003Cem\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EHunger Games\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/em\u003E\u0026nbsp;franchise, which is filming its latest installment in Atlanta.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI responded when they put out a call for extras because I wanted to see what a real movie set looks like,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s been fascinating.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EKeep your eyes peeled for Omid Nabipour in the upcoming\u0026nbsp;\u003Cem\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EHunger Games\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/em\u003E\u0026nbsp;movie\u2014 he was recruited to play a District 13 Rebel as well as a Capital Citizen.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBut don\u2019t forget to also look for him at the Georgia Tech commencement ceremonies, spring 2015. That\u0027s a role that makes him truly shine.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI am continuing my graduate studies. I want to get out and start working in industry,\u201d he said. \u201cBut film will always be a part of my life.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022rtecenter\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022rtecenter\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003EOmid Nabipour with his father, Jamshid Nabipour and his mother Tayebeh Latifi at Georgia Tech\u0027s December 2012 undergraduate commencement ceremonies. Nabipour is working on his MS at Tech, having already completed his BS.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Will he build vehicles that travel the galaxy or make films that showcase the stars?  AE graduate student Omid Nabipour is keeping his options open."}],"uid":"27456","created_gmt":"2015-07-14 15:40:23","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:19:04","author":"Britanny Grace","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-03-07T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2014-03-07T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"groups":[{"id":"1239","name":"School of Aerospace Engineering"}],"categories":[{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"}],"keywords":[{"id":"2082","name":"aerospace engineering"},{"id":"134701","name":"Omid Nabipour"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":["communications@ae.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}