100 seconds without a dialogue or character. But at the end of the short film, we are surprised to find a parable of resistance, the figure of a father fighting against the odds to secure a decent life for his family.
With a brilliant display of symbolism, director Seyed Mohammad Reza Khardmendan entices the viewer to the last second, in a viral video that has engaged over 50,000 viewers in Iran and the Middle East. The film was awarded best screenplay at the Animation Festival, and best idea in Tehran’s 30th International Short Film Festival.
“It is first and foremost dedicated to my father”, says director Seyed Mohammad Reza. The idea, he explains, came to his mind 4 years ago, when his mother had to undergo dangerous surgery, and he witnessed how his father patiently stood by her, keeping the family together.
One day, while sitting in his room overlooking the roof of the house, the clothesline caught his eye. He imagined a piece of clothing as a metaphor of a person trying to comfort the others. Later on, the figure of the storm would come to represent the struggles all fathers face in life.