Zhubin Rahbar, a native of Palo Alto, has had a lifelong fascination with the Southland. His passion for the performing arts began early, with involvement at the Children's Theatre on Middlefield, where he collaborated with Michael Liftin. As a junior high school student, he wrote and directed his own skits, earning a Best Drama Student award.
After graduating with a degree in Theatre Arts from the University of California, San Diego, Rahbar moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in film. He studied rigorously under the guidance of Robert Carnegie at Playhouse West in North Hollywood, a theatre conservatory that also counted James Franco, his old Palo Alto Junior High schoolmate, among its alumni.
Rahbar has now been given the opportunity to work with acclaimed director Errol Morris, who is known for his thought-provoking documentaries, including the Academy Award-winning "Fog of War." Their latest collaboration, "S.O.P. Standard Operating Procedure," is scheduled for release on April 25, 2008, and will be distributed by Sony Pictures Classics.
The documentary examines the unintended consequences of the Iraqi war, focusing on the events that took place at Abu Ghraib prison, which gained international attention in 2004 due to the shocking photos that emerged. The film tells the story of soldiers who believed they were fighting for democracy but found themselves plunged into a nightmare.
In the documentary, Rahbar plays the lead role of Iraqi prisoner Manadel al-Jamadi, who died after a fruitless half-hour interrogation. During the interrogation, al-Jamadi was suspended from a barred window by his wrists, which were bound behind his back. The cause of his death was not publicly known until February 17, 2005, when news reports introduced the term "Palestinian hanging," a term attributed to the alleged frequent use of this technique by Israeli troops on Palestinian prisoners. This form of torture has been known as strappado since at least the 16th century.
