Oscars selects Iranian toon

Iranian-Danish animation ‘Song Sparrow’ has been picked among the qualified competitors for Oscars 2021.

Written, directed and produced by Farzaneh Omidvarnia, the award-winning short animation is being selected by the Academy of Motion Arts and Science as a viable candidate to run for an Oscar at 93rd edition of the awards ceremony.

The selection of the films has been made based on their Oscar-qualifying festivals wins. ‘Song Sparrow’ got qualified at the Lebu International Film Festival in Chile.

The film is not, however, Iran’s sole representative this year, as ‘Am I a Wolf’ directed by Amir-Houshang Moein is also among the selected titles to take part at this category of the event.

‘Song Sparrow’, which has been made using stop-motion technique, has some handmade puppets as its featuring characters.

The film tells the story of a group of refugees who try to reach a safe country in search for a better life. To do so, they pay a smuggler to drive them across the boarders in a fridge truck.

However, the freezing temperature of the truck turns their hopes for a better future into a fierce struggle for survival.

Best short animation at the Giffoni Film Festival in Italy, special mention at the Cortile International Short Film Festival in Italy, best animated film at the Festival Internazionale del Cortometraggio in France, and special mention at the MyArt Film Festival in Italy are among the international awards won by ‘Song Sparrow’.

The Oscars, which has mostly held in February, is postponed for April 25 due to the pandemic this year.

AA/FM