We all know the power of fatherhood when we see or experience it. Fathers are necessary, and when they are missing from our lives we pay a heavy price, both personally and societally.
Father, a one-minute award-winning animated Iranian short film directed and written by Mohammad Reza Kheradmandan, reminds us of the importance of fatherhood, and what it is in its essence.
Kheradmandan says the idea for the animation short came from the years his mother had cancer and his father was under extreme stress and pressure. “He sacrificed a lot to pull our family through the difficulties that cancer caused,” says Kheradmandan, who wanted to show in the film the pivotal role that his father performed in taking care of his family.
Father, distributed by BARR Pictures Media, has won numerous awards, including Best Animation Short at the 9th International Film Festival Film 100, Best Idea for Animation Short at the 30th International Short Film Festival Tehran, and Best Animation Short at the International Film Festival City.
The short has touched people around the world. Kheradmandan says he received a message from a woman in Sweden who told him that for three years she had no connection with her father in Iran. After seeing the short animation, she cried for 10 minutes and was inspired to call her father. They spoke for the first time in ages, and forgave each other. “She messaged me to thank me,” says Kheradmandan.
Film and animation can bring people together around a powerful and universal theme, a fact Kheradmandan realized in making the film. “I think the understanding of fatherhood is the same across the world,” says Kheradmandan. “After this animation, I realized how through stories like this, I can move people and bring people from any religion, culture, and race together. Everyone has a father and can identify with this idea … I was very proud of the positive reply from many people that this story impacted.”
Read more:
How fatherhood changed my views of masculinity
And today we celebrate...