Tehran Int’l Animation Festival names winners

The 11th edition of the Tehran International Animation Festival (TIAF) has been wrapped up on Thursday March 7 with ‘This Magnificent Cake!’ being named as the best film of the event.  

Co-directed by Marc James Roels and Emma De Swaef, ‘This Magnificent Cake!’ is a joint production of Belgium, France and the Netherlands.  

Set in colonial Africa in the late 19th century, the anthology film, as put by the official festival, “tells the story of five different characters, including a troubled king, a middle-aged Pygmy working in a luxury hotel, a failed businessman on an expedition, a lost porter and a young army deserter.”

The festival also selected ‘Am I a Wolf?’ by Iranian animator Amir-Houshang Moeen as a runner-up while ‘Maned and Macho’ by Shiva Sadeq-Asadi won the award for best third movie. 

The biennial animation event was held by the Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children & Young Adults (IIDCYA) where ‘Peripheria’ by David Coquard-Dassault from France also garnered third best movie award.

Award for best children’s film was bestowed to ‘Patchwork Pals’ by Angela Steffen from Germany while Japanese director Tomoki Misato grabbed award for the best student animation for ‘My Little Goat’.

‘One Thousand Myths’ co-directed by Asghar Saffar and Abbas Jalali Yekta from Iran won award for the best TV production and ‘9 Ways to Draw a Person’ brought Sasha Svirsky from Russia award for the best experimental animation.

‘Eaten’ by Mohsen Rezapur from Iran and ‘Wicked Girl’, a co-production between France and Turkey by Turkish director Ayce Kartal, both received the special jury prize of the event.

The award-winning ‘The Last Fiction’ by Ashkan Rahgozar succeeded to win award for best feature-length movie.

The International Center of Film for Children and Young People (CIFEJ) Award was presented to ‘Trunky’ by Ekaterina Filippova from Russia. 

Likewise, ‘The Blissful Accidental Death’ by Sergiu Negulici from Romania received the award for best artistic and technical achievement.

Iranian animation ‘Fox’ by Sadeq Javadi was picked as best animation of the national section of the event.

Veteran Iranian film scholar Akbar Alami was also honored for his lifetime achievements during the closing ceremony. 

Tehran International Animation Festival (TIAF) aims to create an environment for the exchange of ideas and experiences through goal-oriented collection and presentation of the arts, while spotting talent and encouraging innovation amongst newcomers.

The 11th edition of TIAF was launched on March 3-7, 2019 in Tehran.

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