Zal Batmanglij

Zal Batmanglij is an Iranian-American filmmaker known for Sound of My Voice (2011) and The East (2013), both co-written with his creative partner Brit Marling, and for co-creating the Netflix series The OA (2016–2019), a visually ambitious supernatural drama about identity, near-death experience, and alternate dimensions that developed a fiercely devoted following. Batmanglij has been open about his queer identity and has spoken about the relationship between his Iranian-American background and his filmmaking. The OA's cancellation in 2019 generated one of the most intense fan campaigns in streaming television history.