Kingston University lecturer wins multiple international awards for groundbreaking short animation

With film award season in full swing, a Kingston University academic has been celebrating international success with the release of their latest short film.

And Granny Would Dance has secured multiple prestigious awards at film festivals around the world, including the Audience Award for Best Animation at Palm Springs International Film Festival and the Grand Prize for Best Animation at Flickers Rhode Island International Film Festival.

Kingston School of Art illustration animation senior lecturer and filmmaker Maryam Mohajer debuted the 10-minute animation in June 2024 with a world premiere at the Palm Springs International Film Festival, having worked on the production for two years.

The film, produced by Animate Projects, with the support of the British Film Institute (BFI), awarding and funds from the National Lottery, tells the story through the perspective of a little girl, Six-year-old Marmar, who visits her grandmother's house during a social gathering in which she observes how the adult women in her life navigate their relationships with their loved ones and each other.

Marmar listens in on her grandmother's friends laughing about their partners as they play an illicit game of cards. Set in Iran and inspired by the director's heritage and personal experience, the film explores how the women use humour, singing, card games and dancing as ways to connect and help each other heal and survive.

The European premiere in Switzerland was followed by a triumphant UK debut at the London Film Festival. November proved particularly successful, with the film scooping the prestigious Best of Festival award alongside Best Animation at Aesthetica Film Festival, the first animation to achieve this distinction. Within the same week, the film won Best British Animation at Manchester Animation Festival, followed by the Best of British prize at the London Animation Film Festival.

Ms Mohajer said the success of And Granny Would Dance had been unexpected, but that she was overjoyed by the reception the film had received when screened in front of audiences around the world. "The whole experience of going to festivals is amazing," she said. "I love watching my film with an audience, it's a great way of getting very direct feedback. The first screening is always the scariest – you hope it resonates with the audience, but you're also concerned about noticing something you'd like to change."

The filmmaker said the film hinged on the relationships between the women portrayed, with initial voice recording sessions of the script setting the tone for the development of the animation. "The session was magical. We had a group of women who met on the day and they connected in such a beautiful way," she said. "We cried, we danced, we laughed a lot. There was even improvisation happening," she recalls.

"I think the success comes from the portrayal of the little details that we as humans share," she explains. "The sounds, even when they pick up a cup of tea – what you hear and what you see, it brings back memories. On the surface, it's all laughing and jokes, but we know as the audience there is an undercurrent of things that are left unsaid."
This isn't the director's first brush with acclaim – her previous film, Grandad Was a Romantic, won a BAFTA award for Best Short Animation in 2020.

Head of Illustration Animation Paddy Molloy said Ms Mohajer's success was a fantastic example for students to follow. "At Kingston School of Art, our Illustration Animation course is known for its innovative approach to visual storytelling," he said. "Being taught by award-winning filmmakers at the top of their profession offers our students a unique perspective both artistically and in navigating a path within the industry for their own careers."

• Find out more about studying Illustration Animation BA (Hons) at Kingston University.