Animation in the Middle East ─ Practice and Aesthetics from Baghdad to Casablanca

The internationally acclaimed films Persepolis and Waltz with Bashir only hinted at the vibrant animation culture that exists within the Middle East and North Africa. In spite of censorship, oppression and war, animation studios have thrived in recent years—in Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine, Syria and Turkey—giving rise to a whole new generation of entrepreneurs and artists. The success of animation in the Middle East is in part a product of a changing cultural climate, which increasingly calls for art that reflects politics. Equally, the professionalization and popularization of film festivals and the emergence of animation studios and private initiatives are the results of a growing consumer culture, in which family-friendly entertainment is big business. Drawing together the diverse strands of local productions, regional co-productions, the influence of digital developments and television, and cinematic feature films, Animation in the Middle East reveals how animation is part of the broader cinema culture of a large, heterogeneous area. It uncovers the history and politics that have defined the practice and study of animation in the Middle East, and explores the innovative visions of contemporary animators in the region.

Stefanie Van de Peer is a Teaching Fellow in Global Cinema at the University of Stirling in Scotland. She has co-edited two books: Art and Trauma in Africa (IB Tauris, 2013) and Film Festivals and the Middle East (2014). She has also worked behind the scenes of several Arab and African film festivals around the world, among others, the Africa in Motion Film Festival, REEL Festivals, the Middle Eastern Film Festival, and the Boston Palestine Film Festival.