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ANIMATION WORLD MAGAZINE - ISSUE 6.01 - APRIL 2001
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My Trip To Tehran
The closing ceremony was a very majestic affair. We were treated to speeches from the festival directors and president of the Centre and members of the National Jury. Then a man with an ear-splittingly powerful and moving voice sang a section from the Holy Koran before we got on to the prizes and awards. The Jury's best three films went to Father and Daughter by Michael Dudok de Wit, The Periwig-Maker by Steffen Schaeffer and the overall winner, the Golden Bird prize, went to When the Day Breaks by Wendy Tilby and Amanda Forbis. The Director's choice of best film went to Alexander Petrov's The Old Man and The Sea, which was also a huge audience favourite. The best Iranian film and best kids film went to Shangoul and Mangoul by Merteza Ahadi and Farkondeh Torabi, a rich and luscious mythical tale entirely constructed by embroidery. But the animation itself was just one small part of the whole amazing five days. The hosts treated all of us like royalty. They wouldn't let me pay for anything and they even took us all out for a trip to the mountains, and to the King's summerhouse/museum on our final day. We had many fine meals at night in the restaurants and to cap it all they even gave us each a present of a stunning Persian carpet. I will especially cherish the memories of our night in a restaurant where we munched on delicious barbecued chicken and lamb and sang and danced along to the raucous local music. At one stage Nelson Shin, ever the joker, turned to me and said, "I've been drinking this non-alcoholic beer all night long and I feel drunk. This is great!" For our part we were constantly besieged by curious journalists. I took part in a big press conference on the first night and was interviewed on national television. It was a curious experience seeing myself dubbed into the local language! Everyone wanted to know what was happening in the rest of the world animation-wise, what did we think about Iranian animation and how could they improve. I was also approached on three occasions by animators who wanted me to sponsor them so that they could come to Australia. It was a bit hard to explain to them that the immigration authorities in Oz might not look so kindly on this.
Iran right now is opening up to outsiders and it's a great time to go over and visit. I found it a fascinating mix between the traditional and the younger generation of kids who are beginning to question some of these age-old customs. Of course the women have to keep covered up from head to foot and some of the overseas guests found this hard to cope with. On one occasion I was walking through the polluted city centre with one of the female guests and her headscarf slipped as we were crossing a road. A car pulled up, two men wound down windows and spat and swore at us. The city itself is way over populated; 12 million people and everyone drives because petrol is as cheap as bottled water! Navigating your way across the roads is a nightmare. It seems there are no road rules but we were told by one of the festival hosts that we would be okay because, "They won't run over foreigners, just us Iranians!" I met several very intelligent and open younger people and was told that there is now a park in Tehran where the youngsters go and secretly hold hands. It might seem laughable but it is extremely dangerous stuff that these kids are doing. On the other hand, on the day I arrived there was a mass 700 couple-strong wedding at the local university. The government will entice young couples under the age of 21 to get married with the promise of their own apartments and allowances...to encourage the old traditions happening. I left the city at 3 in the morning, a godawful time to leave, and with just a couple of hours sleep. As well as my Iranian friends I had met, I also had a great time with the Swedes and other overseas guests. Cards and addresses were exchanged and we all left with our fantastic memories. I left Tehran with a very warm feeling for the people I had come into contact with and who had been good enough to share their culture with me. It feels like the least I can do is to screen some of these films to an Australian audience and give them some of the exposure they deserve outside of Iran. Nag Vladermersky is one of the founding members of the Melbourne Animation Posse dedicated to organising animation events in Melbourne, Australia. The Posse have quickly established two festivals, the Melbourne International Student Animation Festival (MISAF) and the Melbourne International Animation Festival (MIAF). Details can be found at www.miaf.net. He is also an award-winning animator currently on annual leave while setting up MIAF.
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