And Granny Would Dance
A film by Maryam Mohajer
Six year old Marmar observes how the adult women in her life navigate their relationships with their loved ones and each other. She listens in on her grandmother’s friends laughing about their partners as they play an illicit game of cards. Based on the director’s memories of her childhood in Iran, And Granny Would Dance is a tale of love, grief and resilience across generations.
The film had its World Premiere at Palm Springs International ShortFest 2024, and won the Audience Award for Best Animated Short, making it eligible for consideration for the Oscar Short Animated Film category. It then won the Grand Prize for Best Short Animation at Flickers’ Rhode Island International Film Festival 2024, Best Animation and Best of Festival at Aesthetica Short Film Festival 2024, and Best British Short Animation at Manchester Animation Festival 2024. Other screenings include AFI Fest, Fantoche International Animation Film Festival and the BFI London Film Festival 2024.
And Granny Would Dance is a film by Maryam Mohajer, produced by Animate Projects, with the support of the BFI, awarding funds from the National Lottery.
Maryam Mohajer is a British-Iranian, BAFTA winning animator-director who was born in Tehran, Iran. Having lived through revolution and war, she moved to the UK in 2000, where, with a background in painting, she discovered animation and studied for an MA in Animation at the Royal College of Art. Maryam’s 2019 film Grandad was a romantic won the BAFTA Award for British Short Animation, the Public Choice Award at the British Animation Awards and Best Animation at Rhode Island IFF. Maryam has also been commissioned by Tintype Gallery and the London Symphony Orchestra.
