How this LGBT Iranian-American actress is breaking boundaries

Although there is no dearth of broke Brooklyn girls on the big and small screens, none looks and sounds quite like Desiree Akhavan. The 30-year-old filmmaker wrote, directed and stars in "Appropriate Behavior"--out Jan. 16--about a bisexual New Yorker trying to make love and work for herself. Akhavan also has a recurring role on season four of HBO's Girls. In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the Iranian-American said, "I love comedy, and I love dark comedy."

The filmmaker also wants to explore a project inspired by her mother's immigration to the United States when she was 20 years old. The culture shock her mother experienced during the Iranian revolution is a story that we rarely see but she really wants to tell.

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