Iran short toon wins award in Japan

Iranian short animation ‘Am I a Wolf?’ has won an award at the 2019 Media Arts Festival in Japan.

Directed by Amir-Houshang Moein, the short has taken home the New Face Award at the 22nd edition of the Japanese event.

Based on the fantasy book by Afsaneh Shabannejad, the animation is a recreation of the classic fable of ‘The Wolf and the Lamb’.

A brief synopsis for the 8-minute flick reads, “ 'The Wolf and the Seven Little Goats'. Everybody has a role. They are totally getting carried away by their roles in a way that the borders between reality and theatrical performance is now hardly realized.'

Meanwhile, the child acting as the wolf in the story is scripted to be defeated. That makes him feel lonely and annoyed. As he takes his role too seriously, a bit of chaos startles the group. In the end, the presence of other children and his friends next to him take him out of this atmosphere.”

The award-winning film has so far attended several international events such as 2019 International Children’s Film Festival in Bangladesh. It is also set to attend the 2019 Annecy International Animation Film Festival in France.  

Established in 1997, The Japan Media Arts Festival is a comprehensive festival of Media Arts which honors prominent works from a diverse range of media- from animation and comics to media art and games.

The latest edition of the festival has been underway since May 27. It is set to wrap up on May 31, 2019.

AA/MMF