TEHRAN – Ashkan Rahgozar, the director of the acclaimed Iranian animated movie “The Last Fiction”, has said that his fellow colleagues’ migration affects the development of animation in the country.

He is the director and founder of Hoorakhsh Studio, an animation studio in Tehran, which has produced “The Last Fiction” that has been honored at several Iranian and foreign events, including the 20th Bucheon International Animation Film Festival in South Korean and the 3rd Ajayu International Animation Festival in Peru in 2018.

“Our studio organizes animation courses to discover promising young persons,” Rahgozar told the Persian service of ISNA on Wednesday.

“However, when they achieve high academic standards and they can play a positive role in animation production, they migrate to work in other countries,” he added.

“We haven’t found any solution to the problem of migration, because it is really extensive,” he lamented.

“The Last Fiction” is currently competing in the 11th Tehran International Animation Festival.

“‘The Last Fiction’ is the first feature-length animation produced at our studio,” he said and added, “The major experience that I want to share with other animators is that there are big differences between making a short animation and a feature-length one.”

“Those animators who want to do a feature-length movie should spend more time in the pre-production stage and also scrutinize how compelling their story is and work in a well-planned manner.”

Photo: Animator Ashkan Rahgozar attends a press conference for his movie “The Last Fiction” during the 37th Fajr Film Festival at Tehran’s Milad Tower on February 1, 2019. (FFF/Milad Payami)

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