Amir Shams is originally from Americana, Brazil. After studying Architecture and Urban Planning at Escola da Cidade, São Paulo, he went on to graduate in Filmmaking from Syracuse University, NY, and study film at FAMU, Prague. During this period he was mentored by the late Abbas Kiarostami. His work has been shown in places such as Cannes Film Festival, Everson Museum of Art, UnionDocs Center for Documentary Art, and in public and private schools.