12/12/2023 - Iranian filmmaker Zahra Salarnia presented her film and we were there to chat with her about this visual journey through the memories of a child born in a war zone

Zahra Salarnia

No. 28, a short film by Iranian filmmaker Zahra Salarnia which premiered in Animafest Zagreb’s Grand Competition for Short Films, was also presented in the Animateka International Animated Film Festival’s Best of the World section in Ljubljana. 

No. 28 is an authentic visual journey through the memories of a child born in a war zone. In 1982, when Iranian troops were close to taking back the city of Khorramshahr on the south-western side of Iran, young Zahra Salarnia watched soldiers on TV, and imagined they were marching with their gas masks behind her bedroom in her parents’ house. In No.28, she explores alternative and unconventional methods for making and presenting animation by revisiting her childhood.

GoCritic!: Debut films are often autobiographical. Is this the case for you and No. 28? 
Zahra Salarnia: Yes. The film is about my childhood memories. It communicates my past experiences without any direct storytelling, to enhance viewers’ engagement with the film’s world. The interplay between frames uncovers the memory of an innocent childhood in a remote, peaceful environment set against the political backdrop of post-revolutionary Iran. But viewers may have different interpretations of the film. 

Are your influences more Western or Iranian?
I seek inspiration from both western and eastern artists, depending on what I’m creating. No. 28 was inspired by the works of William Kentridge, Yuri Norstein, and Emy Kravitz. 

Once people hear that you’re Iranian and a woman, they might have certain expectations of what your work should look like. Have you ever experienced this? 
I usually develop my animation based on subjects that genuinely interest me, and I present my personal vision and experiences authentically, free from cultural and political restraints. For the production of No. 28, I remained faithful to the contents of my memory without forcing any premeditated story. 

The film mentions the 1982 Battle of Khorramshahr during the Iran-Iraq war, which was a turning point in the conflict. How is it significant to the storytelling in the film?
The soldiers behind the window, the sound of boots walking, and my parents watching TV to the tune of radio news and sirens are my fragmentary recollections of the Iran-Iraq war, reflecting my feelings about it as a child. I was born during the conflict. Despite living far away from the war zones, my auditory and visual memory is full of TV and radio war news. As a child, watching marching soldiers wearing chemical masks and big dark boots was terrifying. I thought they were walking just outside my bedroom window. 

The film’s animation and soundtrack alternate between depicting the private and depicting the public: a child’s whispers and a public announcement on the radio. Can you tell me more about this combination?
The juxtaposition of private moments and major public events represents a duality in my childhood: peace and war, calming and unsettling. The contrast between the images and sounds of my memory vividly reveal how my peaceful, private life was constantly interrupted by the television's audio-visuals depicting the political affairs of post-revolutionary Iran.

No. 28 is a 2D animation, but you teach 3D. Which one do you prefer?
I love exploring a variety of techniques and mediums. But I really enjoy the physical process of creating animation using analogue materials. The hand and body movements involved and the tangibility of analogue materials are a source of real joy and curiosity for me, and help me develop new ideas.

Do you have any new projects in development?
I am in the early stages of developing ideas and concepts for my upcoming animation project. The story is inspired by remarkable woman, someone close to me, battling her way through life's challenges.