Iranian ‘Bystander’ to go to US

Iranian short animation ‘Bystander’ has been accepted to go on screen at the 14th edition of the Poppy Jasper International Film Festival in the US.

Directed by Mohsen Baqeri-Dastgerdi, ‘Bystander’ is a short animation about people who are against diversity and seek its destruction.

In what the director refers to as a form of human totalitarianism, the animation represents the authoritarian desires of humanity where humans are forcefully assimilated through a brutal crackdown on objection.

Dastgerdi’s animation has been featured at film festivals around the world with his most recent appearances in Norway, Germany, the US, the UK, and India.

The animation is also being featured at the 3rd Las Hurdes Film Festival in Spain.

The film received the Diploma Bravery award at the 9th TOFUZI Festival in Georgia, as well as the Grand Prix award at the 2nd Open Air Short Film Festival in Belarus.

The Poppy Jasper International Film Festival is an annual event created by volunteers as part of a non-profit organization. The festival is dedicated to independent films.

The 14th edition of the festival will be held on April 3-7, 2019, in California, the US.

MG/AG