Biography
Vicken Margossian is a creative development producer and film programmer based in Toronto, ON. After completing his MA in Cinema and Media Studies at the University of Southern California, he worked in film and TV development at A24, designed and taught research-creation courses at the American University of Beirut, and currently leads producing and screenwriting labs with Arab filmmakers for Open Screenplay. At the Cinema Studies Institute, he aims to explore and challenge notions of film authorship in the cinematic languages of the SWANA region with a focus on masculinity, sexuality, and Nation. His broader research interests include film pedagogy, industry studies, programming, children’s media, and literary studies. He is currently (and always, if you ask him) in development for his first TV series. Outside of academics, Vicken is a recovering reader, an avid dancer, and a community organiser.
Selected Work
- Taste of Pomegranate short film program as part of the University of Pittsburgh’s ‘SCREENSHOT: Asia’ film festival (November 2025)
- Reverberations (2022, Producer)
- USSR30: Cinema After the Collapse film festival - University of Southern California Institute of Armenian Studies (November 2021)
- ‘Ad Astra’: A Voyage To One’s Own Self (2019, Reel Rambler)
- Pain and Glory (Dolor y gloria): the Becoming of Pedro Almodóvar (2019, High on Films)
Awards
- Fulbright Scholar to Los Angeles (2019-2021), US Department of State Bureau of Cultural Affairs
- Annenberg Fellow (2020-2021; offer declined), University of Southern California
- Shriram Fellow (2019-2021), University of Southern California
- AUB-Alumni of Dubai & Northern Emirates Merit Scholarship (2013-2017), American University of Beirut
- Dr. Samuel White Academic Grant (2015-2017), American University of Beirut
- Armenian Students Endowed Academic Grant (2015-2017), American University of Beirut
- Global Liberal Arts Alliance Scholar to South Africa (Summer 2016), American University of Beirut
Education
Cohort
- 2025-2026