Oct 16, 2017

Tomorrow is an ambitious 14-minute CG short film from Iran (trailer)

"Tomorrow" is a 14-minute, dialogue-free CG short film currently being independently produced in Iran.

In the film, a 10-year-old street urchin struggling to survive daily hardships forms a friendship with a stray dog that eventually changes both their lives. The trailer for the film was recently released online:

"Tomorrow" is written and directed by Aayasub Faiz, who makes his directorial debut with this film. Faiz graduated from Animation Mentor in 2012 and has worked in the Iranian animation industry on short films, commercials, and television series. He currently teaches character animation. Below are some Iranian commercials for which he served as animation supervisor:

Faiz started his own studio, Badstache, in 2014 to produce "Tomorrow". While looking for story ideas, he was inspired by a vintage photo of two mischievous-looking boys playing in the street. Together with other members of his studio, he brainstormed possible story ideas about these boys and their relationship, eventually developing a story in which the characters face a compelling real-life dilemma. One of Fates' goals was to avoid the traditional screenwriting clichés of good and evil and explore ethical ambiguities and gray areas.

"We decided to make the film without dialogue in order to connect with a wider audience," Feiz told Cartoon Brew. 'This posed a great challenge for me as I try to tell the story visually. I wanted the production to be invisible, so the sequences were staged with very realistic camera movements, and the storytelling concentrated first on acting and second on direction, composition, and rhythm."[9 [Among them were Kaveh Ruintan, who had worked as animation supervisor on Carlos Baena's "La Noria," and character designer whose short "Changeover" premiered during the first season of CB Fest. Mehdi Alibeygi, whose short film "Changeover" premiered during the first season of CB Fest, are included.

The film is a period drama set in mid-20th century Iran, drawing visual inspiration from Faiz's hometown of Shiraz. Both Alibeigi and the film's art director, Hamidreza Sheikh, designed the film's environment and overall look based on vintage Persian and 1960s Iranian architecture.

Feiz also notes that lighting is an important element of storytelling in the film. He credits lighting supervisor Payam Memar with "coming up with creative solutions to capture the essence of the conceptual design while remaining true to the exact time of the plot."

Badstache plans to complete the film within the next year. For news on the film's production and distribution, visit Badstache.com.

A selection of character turntables and animation tests from "Tomorrow" can be seen at: