In 2011, Batmanglij's debut feature, Sound of My Voice, co-written with Marling, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. Shortly thereafter, Fox Searchlight Pictures purchased Sound of My Voice, as well as Batmanglij and Marling's next feature script, The East. Batmanglij also directed The East, starring Marling, Ellen Page, and Alexander Skarsgård. The film premiered at Sundance in 2013.