‘Malakout’ crowned at Hiroshima Int’l Animation Festival

‘Malakout’ (Divinity) has been crowned at the biennial Hiroshima International Animation Festival in Japan.

Farnouosh Abedi’s 11-minute animated piece, made in horror genre, took home the special award of the 18th edition of the Japanese Oscar-qualifying short film festival.

Iranian animated films ‘Crab’ and ‘Am I a Wolf?’ were also among the Iranian winners of the Hiroshima film event, succeeding to bag the Special Jury Award and the Hiroshima Prize, respectively.

‘Malakout’ narrates the story of a piano player who tries to bring his wife back to life but he has to deal with the devil inside him.

“Music was his passion… Love was his masterpiece…” a short synopsis for the animation reads.

Two of the recent best short film awards bestowed on the flick were from the 2020 DaVinci Int’l Film Festival (DIFF) in the US and the 14th Cryptshow Festival in Spain.

The animation is also the recipient of an honorary diploma at the Silk Road Int’l Film Festival in Ireland, the best animation award at the Black Country Horror Shorts Film Festival 2020 in the UK, and two awards at the Florida Animation Festival of the US.

On September 2020, ‘Malakout’ will go on screen at the 17th “In the Palace” Short Film Festival in Bulgaria as well as the 2020 Tulipoff Int’l Film Festival in Denmark.

Established in 1985, the Hiroshima Int’l Animation Festival promotes international cross-cultural exchanges through the animation art.

Due to the pandemic, the event was held on August 20-24, 2020 without the presence of the audience but Japanese jury members only.

MM/FM