TEHRAN-Two animations from Iran are present in the 13th International Animated Film Festival Animocje, which is underway in Bydgoszcz, Poland.

“Being 10” by Fatemeh Jafari and “Our Unform” by Yeganeh Moqaddam are the Iranian animations participating in the event, Mehr reported.

Produced by the Institute for Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults, Jafari’s short animation is about a father and his ten-year-old son who live in a lonely cottage in the middle of a dense wood. The father, a hunter, spares one of his catches and brings it home as a present for his son. What, at first, was just a plaything would change the young boy's life forever.

The 18-minute animation recently won the third prize at the 11th international festival Constantine's Gold Coin in Serbia.

Jafari, 46, graduated from Tarbiat Modares University with an M.A. in animation. She has been active as an animator, scriptwriter, and director since 2005.

The seven-minute “Our Uniform” was one of the five nominees in the category of Best Animated Short at the Oscars 2024. 

In the short flick, an Iranian girl recalls school-age memories through the wrinkles and fabrics of her old uniform, quite literally. Rather than using paper, canvas, or a digital medium, Moghaddam painted directly on the cloth used for making school uniforms to tell the story of a character who dreams of a better future.

Moghaddam’s self-produced animation won the Grand Jury prize at Spain’s Animayo Festival and the Best Short Animation award at France’s Annecy International Animation Film Festival.

The short film stands out for its ability to combine different techniques and media, in what is known as mixed media, creating a visually captivating experience through a unique and creative approach.

The 2022 production explores the footprints of childhood uniforms as they are more than just a piece of clothing and can affect the way people present themselves in public.

Moghaddam is an animator and illustrator who has a strong passion for nature, culture, and the reality she lives in. In her films, she tries to find a voice for beings who usually don't have a voice.

Animocje is a film festival focused on animated cinema that is ambitious and searches for its own artistic expression forms.

Its priority is to present daring, surprising, and innovative solutions, outstanding applications of traditional techniques, and interesting subjects that can evoke a variety of emotions.

Animocje organizes workshops and meetings with artists, and other forms that bring the world of animation closer and make it possible to look at it from a different angle than from in front of the screen.

Having started on April 14, the festival will conclude on April 20.

Photo: Scenes from “Being 10” (L) and “Our Uniform”

SS/SAB