TEHRAN – The Chaniartoon International Comic & Animation Festival has selected 19 short Iranian animated films to screen at its sixth edition, which is underway in the Greek cities of Chania and Crete.

The highlights of the Iranian lineup are “Where the Winds Die” by Pejman Alipur, “The Wet Mirror” by Amir-Hushang Moein, “The Sprayer” by Farnush Abedi and “Sympathy Syndrome” by Maral Alizadeh.

“Where the Winds Die” is about Iraq’s chemical attack on the Iranian town of Sardasht in 1987.

Iraq bombarded Sardasht in West Azerbaijan Province with chemical weapons on June 28, 1987, killing over 1,000 and injuring over 8,000 civilians, many of whom were permanently disabled.

“The Wet Mirror” is a loose adaptation of the Sheikh Sanan story from Persian poet Attar Neyshaburi’s “The Conference of the Birds”. Sheikh Sanan falls in love with a Christian girl, who forces the sheikh to do things against his beliefs and religion.

The animation is about an old miniaturist who has painted images of romance in his paintings for years, but all at once is ensnared by a burning love for a young girl. 

“The Sprayer” is about an area occupied by the sprayer’s army. No one has the right to grow any kind of plant either in public or private. So many of the people and soldiers do not even know how a plant grows or what one looks like, until one day one of the soldiers finds a seed buried deep down in the dust, and his curiosity is just the beginning of something extraordinary, something big, something revolutionary.

Sympathy Syndrome is an animation adaptation of a book written by Iranian children’s book writer Tahereh Eybod.

A child is at home, looking out the window. Mesmerized by outside world’s beauty, the kid decides to leave the house. Once outside the kid begins to worry if the chaos is destroying the environment.

The lineup also includes “The Red Fire”, “Sewing Machine”, and “The Red Fire”.

Directed by Mona Abdollah Shahi, “The Red Fire” tells the story of the Darkness Demon, who has swept over the world, trying to establish the end of Light, unlike the earlier promises and prophecies. It is in such an era that a flock of Red birds travel in search of the Red Fire; a Fire that according to the prophecies, wipes out the blackness and puts an end to the constant eclipse and absence of the Sun. But where are they going to find the Red Fire?

“Sewing Machine” by Najmeh Hashemolhosseini follows a woman in a sewing workshop who has a technical problem with her old sewing machine. A little girl may be able to solve the problem. 

“Under Siege by a Finger”, “Politics”, “Rain”, “Home”, “Dot”, “Thou Shalt Dance”, “Backpack”, “Bubble Beetle”, “Lakh”, “The Improvement of Human Reason”, “The Crow”, “Magic Lantern” and “Playground” are other Iranian films competing in the festival, which will run until September 18.

Photo: “The Sprayer” by Farnush Abedi.

MMS/YAW