سيرة
Sanam Erfani is an award-winning actress fluent in Farsi, English, and Spanish. She earned her MFA in Acting from Columbia University, where she was mentored by the late Kristin Linklater and Ellen Stewart, founder of La Mama Theater. During her MFA studies, she received the prestigious Bob Hope Fellowship for performative excellence.
As an undergraduate, she studied Performance Arts at San Francisco State University under the guidance of Barbara Damashek, a three-time Tony Award nominee for "Quilters." Sanam won First Place in Novice Nationals for Dramatic Interpretation and took Gold at the Phi Rho Pi Nationals for her dramatic performance of Joyce Carol Oates' monologues, along with Bronze for prose interpretation of Albert Camus' "The Hanging." She was also honored with the Southern California Educational Theater Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Leanne in the poignant play "A Piece of My Heart."
In addition to acting, Sanam is a playwright and screenwriter. She co-wrote a series that was a semi-finalist at the Austin Film Festival. Her produced plays include "Attractions" (premiered at NY Theater Fest), "Hush: Inside the Waiting Womb" (premiered at Players Club NYC and Hudson Theater LA), the 12-character solo show "Last Import Soliloquy" (Joyce SoHo NYC), and "La Liberata," an original adaptation combining Ibsen’s "A Doll’s House" and Strindberg’s "Miss Julie" (Dixon Place NYC).
She has appeared in nine award-winning and official selection films and has performed at 39 film festivals. Recent film credits include "The World Drops Dead" (Best Director at Knox Film Fest, Best Actor at Lindsey Film Festival, Official Selection at Atlanta Film Fest 2025); "The Refuge," winner at the Bharat Film Festival and official selection at five international festivals; the multi-award-winning feature "Imitation Girl" (available on Amazon); the award-winning short "Scheherazade" (Champs-Élysées Film Festival and DC Shorts winner); and "Hasti Joon," selected by five film festivals.
Active in New York’s theater scene, including off-Broadway and experimental theater, her credits feature roles such as Cleopatra in Shakespeare’s play at Lenfest Theater, "Babette's Feast" at Connelly Theater NYC, "The Fall" at Flamboyan Theater NYC, "Miss Lilly Gets Boned" at New Ohio Theater NYC, and "Cats Don’t Grin" at Cherry Lane NYC.
Sanam’s work focuses on passionately creating and portraying dynamic characters within nuanced storylines, bringing seamless naturalism and grounded authenticity to every performance.
