TIAF to Feature Notable Animations in March

The 10th Tehran International Animation Festival (TIAF) 2017 will be held from March 5-9 at several cinemas and cultural centers in the capital, as well as provincial cinemas affiliated to the Institute for Intellectual Development of Children & Young Adults (IIDCYA), the organizer of the event.

There are notable award-winning animations participating in the festival, including ‘An Object at Rest,’ directed by animator and storyboard artist Seth Boyden and produced by CalArts School of Film and Video in the US. An epic tale of a rock told over millions of years, the stone protagonist battles against the forces of nature until it faces nature’s greatest obstacle: human civilization.

Layering digital animation on top of hand-painted watercolor backgrounds, Boyden’s animation blends a painterly quality with a classic storyline, creating a short with a real timeless quality. It is among the top hits of 2015 CalArts Character Animation Student Films, says the festival website tehran-animafestival.ir.

Another promising work to be featured is ‘Ayny, My Second Eye,’ directed by Ahmad Saleh from the Academy of Media Arts Cologne, Germany.

The animation is about two boys who need to become one in order to fulfill their biggest dream.

It was a gold winner at the 2016 Student Academy Award, an event held at Beverly Hills by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (OSCAR) to honor student winners from colleges and universities around the world.

  Last House on a Sinking Island

‘The Ballad of Holland Island House,’ a short animation by US-based animator, director, documentarian and sculptor Lynn Tomlinson with an innovative clay-painting technique, will also participate.

Tomlinson tells the true story of the last house on a sinking island in the Chesapeake Bay in northern US. Told from the house’s point of view, the animation is a soulful and haunting view of the impact of sea-level rise.

‘Hum,’ directed in 2015 by American animator Tom Teller is another participant. The 3D animation is about a solitary dish washing robot living out his life in the back room of a restaurant.

Eventually the machine is enlightened to the world that exists beyond his four walls.

‘Borrowed Time,’ directed by animator Andrew Coats and visual effects expert Lou Hamou Lhadj from Peru is also to be shown.

‘Happy End,’ a short animated film directed by Czech animation director and comics author Jan Saska is another must-see. Death and the feelings of guilt are the central themes of the film.

‘Head Vanishes,’ a short animation written and directed by French animator Franck Dion, has won several international awards, and depicts the journey of an elderly woman living with progressive dementia.

The animations will be screened at Felestin (Palestine) Cinema, Ghadir Hall, Behnam Mohammadi Hall and IIDCYA’s Cinema Theater Auditorium and Center for Artistic Creations.