– The filmmaker’s second animated feature project revealed at Critics’ Week in Cannes in 2017 with Taboo of Tehran shines among the grounds of the Forum Surroundings
A promotional image for Mehtap
Among the 25 projects (read the new and the interview with producer Caroline Adrian) selected for the pitches of the Surroundings Forum – Rhenish co-production meeting which starts today and will last three days in Strasbourg, the animated title Mehtap by the German filmmaker of Iranian origin Ali Soozandeh stands.
Very noticed at the Critics’ Week of the Cannes Film Festival 2017 with his first opus Taboo of Tehran [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ali Soozandeh
film profile]the director is preparing now Mehtap which intends to tell the horror of war from the point of view of a stray dog. The storyline centers on the puppy Pegah, who must fight for his survival as war rages in a village in the Middle Eastern mountains. By dint of courage and bravery, but also luck, he joins the gang of “Flaming Hearts”, the lords of the landfill. His meeting with Sia, the rebels’ wild dog, fills him with joy. But it doesn’t last. He is quickly sent to a mine detection dog camp and the survival of an entire unit will depend on his nose…
According to Ali Soozandeh, Mehtap “shows that war does not only affect humans, but also animals and nature. It reminds me of my childhood in Iran, which was plagued by war. I lost friends and relatives. I I have witnessed with my own eyes the evolution of society. The army and the conflict occupy an important place in the film, but the story is centered on the world and the feelings of the protagonists. The situation of women in the areas of war is treated through the eyes of Pegah, the stray dog. They are victims of war, but also of oppression and patriarchy. Animation is a particularly suitable format for illustrating the unusual point of view of a dog It gives a universal aspect to this story of proxy warfare, without the need to specify a time or a place.
The project, led by Felix Gluck for the Berlin company ArtHood Movies (sister company of the international distributor ArtHood Entertainment), aims for a production start date of 2023. The different stages of the workflow necessary for the production of an animated film foresee an important role for France, Germany and Turkey, without excluding other countries such as Belgium for example.
Animation is in the spotlight during this edition of the Forum Alentours, Carlo Vogeleit is It’s important to mea co-production between Luxembourg, Belgium and France, will be the subject of a case study session at the end of the afternoon, followed by a screening at the opening of the professional event in Strasbourg.
(Translated from French)