The decision to rebrand the center has been made due to the new missions given to the center by the Cinema Organization of Iran (COI), the director of the center, Mohammad Hamidi-Moqaddam, told the Persian service of IRNA on Wednesday.
“The center enjoys a long history in producing short and animation films, therefore the change is in line with the center’s new missions, among which are seeking a substantial surge in the number of animations,” he added.
“Due to the significant infrastructures of the country’s animation cinema and its key role in the film industry and international cultural exchange, animation cinema is a strategic topic for us,” he noted.
Hamidi-Moqaddam said that the center has always regarded animation films, and many animators have continually criticized the center for its disregard of animation in its name.
He hoped for a bright future and a great development in the number of animation films by attracting new talent in this field.
The Documentary, Experimental and Animation Film Center is the organizer of Cinéma Vérité, Iran’s major international festival of documentary films.
Over the past few years, experts have warned about the migration of skilled and even semi-professional people working in Iran’s animation industry.
Ashkan Rahgozar, the director of Hoorakhsh, a major animation studio in Tehran, is one of the experts.
“Financial motivation is among the key factors in these immigrations,” he said and added that they prefer to work in environments giving them more freedom to actualize their ideas.
“Iran has not done well on efficiently training human resources in this field, and the professionals’ migration issue has really become serious. We are seeing them going to foreign companies for higher salaries. I see no bright prospect for improvement in human resources here, because even semi-professionals are easily attracted by overseas companies,” said Rahgozar who is the director of the acclaimed animated movie “The Last Fiction”.
Source: Tehran Times