Whistler Film Festival to screen Iranian ‘Animal’ in Canada

Iranian short film ‘Animal’ directed by Bahman and Bahram Ark has been selected to compete at the 17th edition of Whistler Film Festival (WFF) in Canada.

The 15-minute film by the Ark brothers, to go on the Canadian screen on December 2, 2017, is about a man who wants to pass the border unlawfully; so he hunts a ram and decides to escape disguised as the animal.

The film won the second prize in the Cinéfondation category at the 70th edition of the Cannes Film Festival and the best short film award at the 21st Avanca Film Festival in Portugal.

‘Animal’ was picked as the best film at the 34th Tehran International Short Film Festival, best short at the 19th Iran Cinema Celebration, and recently won the best short film award at 18th Izmir Short film festival in Turkey.

The short film has so far gone on screen at a number of international film events, including the 37th Cambridge Film Festival in the UK, the 18th San Diego Asian Film Festival in the US, the 40th Poitiers Film Festival in France, the 46th du nouveau cinéma Film Festival in Canada, and the 40th Denver Film Festival in the US.

The 32nd Valencia International Film Festival in Spain, the 18th Izmir Short Film Festival in Turkey, the 13th Fantastic Film Festival in the US, the 18th Calgary International Film Festival in Canada, the 23rd Sarajevo Film Festival in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the 40th Denver Film Festival in the US, as well as 23rd MedFilm Festival in Italy are among the other international experiences of ‘Animal’.

Established in 2001, the WFF is annually held on the first weekend of December and includes juried competitive sections, the Borsos Award, and the Pandora Audience Award.

The 17th edition of the WFF is slated for November 29 to December 3, 2017, in Whistler, British Columbia, Canada.

MG/MG