Yegane Moghaddam’s innovative and subtle Our Uniform is the first Iranian animated short to be nominated for an Academy Award. An Iranian girl recalls school-age memories through the wrinkles and fabrics of her old uniform in this inventive project, which uses cloth used for making school uniforms to tell its potent story. Moghaddam’s self-produced seven-minute animation won the Grand Jury prize at Spain’s Animayo Festival and the Jean-Luc Xiberras Award for a First Film at France’s Annecy International Animation Film Festival.
Moghaddam, who lives in Iran, is an animator and illustrator who has a strong passion for nature, culture and the world she lives in. In her films, she often tries to find a voice for beings who usually don’t have a voice. She was kind enough to answer a few of our questions via email:
Animation Magazine: Can you tell us when you started working on the short?
Yegane Moghaddam: I began the project in September 2022. Right after the protests began in Iran following the death of Mahsa Amini, I was so moved and felt the need to do something. I always wanted to make a short film about our school uniforms, and that incident convinced me that this film should be made quite urgently.
How many people worked on the short with you?
I worked almost single handedly. My father was my producer who helped me with the basic necessities. My mom helped me with the embroidery. My brother was a huge help in making the Digital Cinema Package. It was basically a family project!
What was the inspiration for the story?
Our Uniform is essentially a cinematic exercise to represent “Hijab,” a religious practice that is quite foreign to most people who haven’t experienced it. So my real intention was to help the viewers reach out closer to a subject matter that is too far to comprehend. I wanted to articulate the feeling of being a girl student in Iran and what it’s like to have an extra layer of Hijab between you, the world around you and your skin. The main mission here was to represent a certain clothing convention and all the feelings associated with wearing it.
How did you decide on the wonderful visuals for the short? It’s such a clever type of animation.
This is a film about a particular dress-code that is mandatory for girls, so I decided to “veil” the entire film with this piece of cloth to reinforce its obligatory nature. I could never make this film with 2D/3D animation because my narration works hand in hand with the materials used in the background. There’s a constant interplay between the verbal and pictorial and the pictures are made out of fabrics, not 2D or 3D animation.
When did you know you wanted to work in animation?
I think I was always obsessed with the idea of “creation”— creating a poem, story, image, sculpture, etc. I found animation to be a very open and welcoming medium to all types of ideas and insanities!
Who are your favorite animation or live action directors?
There are quite a lot. I like to mention the Iranian directors who have been my true sources of inspiration. The one and only Marjane Satrapi [Persepolis], who made me fall in love with the art of comics and storytelling. Also the legendary Asghar Farhadi, who is the first crush of every young Iranian filmmaking student.
Where did you study animation?
At the Art University of Tehran.
What do you hope everyone takes away from Our Uniform?
I don’t mean to convey any sort of message in this film. It’s widely open to all kinds of interpretations. But it’s worth noting that I got completely different feedback from the foreign audience and the Iranians. It looked like an absurd piece of animation to foreigners which made them laugh hard at some scenes. On the contrary, the Iranian viewers, especially girls, found it a sad piece of documentary reminding them of their real school memories.
How was your short received in Iran? Was it screened in theaters or mostly online?
I didn’t have the intention to screen it in Iran. People advised me not to do so. After the Oscar nomination, the film was pirated and got circulated through a lot of social media channels! That was not the kind of screening I was hoping for!
What are your plans for the future?
I’m currently working on my next film’s pre-production. Actually, I’ve already made it (in my head of course)!
Will we see you at the Oscars?
If they issue me a Visa before it’s too late, yes, why not?
See more of Moghaddam’s work at yegane.me.
