Seoul festival nominates Iran animation

The 21st edition of the Seoul International Cartoon and Animation Festival (SICAF) has nominated Iranian animation ‘Release from Heaven’.

Directed by Ali Nouri-Oskouee, the Iranian work won the nomination for Best Animation Award along with three other animations from China, Taiwan, and the Philippines.

The animations that ‘Release from Heaven’ will race against are ‘Fantastica’ made by Leon Ding from China, ‘Saving Sally’ made by Avid Liongoren from the Philippines, and ‘Barkley’ made by LI-WEI CHIU from Taiwan.

Set in a war torn country, the animation narrates the story of a female writer and teacher, Sareh who has to accompany two of her students on a life changing journey to find their fathers.

‘Release from Heaven’ is a mixture of fantasy and reality in which the teacher tries to tell stories for her students to encourage them, but she finds out that the heroes of her stories are real.

Established in 1995, SICAF is an international event specialized in animation representing Asia. The SICAF program introduces a variety of works expanding the territory of animation from the classical masterpieces to the latest hits, focusing on the changing environment and paradigms.

The 21st edition of the festival will take place on July 26-30 in Seoul, South Korea.

‘Release from Heaven’ will also compete at animation festivals in Berlin, Golden Bridge, and Hong Kong among some others.

The animation had its market premier on May 22 as the opening film of Animation Day in Cannes film festival.

MG/AI