Two Iranian films awarded at Oscar-qualifying festival in Japan

Iranian animated films ‘Crab’ and ‘Am I a Wolf’ have been awarded at the 18th Hiroshima International Animation Festival, an Oscar-qualifying event in Japan.

The two films are produced by Iran’s Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults.

Hiroshima International Animation Festival, which was held online this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, said in an email to the institute that Shiva Sadeq-Asadi's ‘Crab’ won the Special Jury Award.

‘Crab’ is about a shy isolated boy interested in his school’s theater troupe. But then, he is only offered the role of a crab.

The festival earlier announced that ‘Am I a Wolf?’, directed by Amir-Houshang Moeen, won the Hiroshima Prize.

Based on a fantasy book by Afsaneh Shabannejad, ‘Am I a Wolf?’ is the recreation of a classic fable named 'The Wolf and the Lamb’.

“The students are performing a theater play called '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 are now hardly realized,” a synopsis for the film reads.

The child performing the role of the wolf is scripted to be defeated. That makes him feel lonely and angry. 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 takes him out of the mood.

Hiroshima International Animation Festival is a biennial event held August in Hiroshima City. It is considered one of the most prestigious animation festivals in the world.

The 2020 edition of the festival was held on August 20-24.

SQ/AG