Maryam Mohajer’s latest short ‘And Granny would Dance’ is proving to be a big hit at international film festivals. Having won amongst others the Grand Prize for Best Animated Short at the Rhode Island International film festival, Best of Festival at the Aesthetica short film Festival. Most recently the film has won Best European Animation Award at the Go Short film festival in the Netherlands, with The Jury commenting: “Warm, rebellious, and gorgeously animated’ and at Brighton International Animation Festival it was given the special mention in the Best UK Film competition. With a statement from the juror Izzy Burton explaining; ‘I’m not sure how to fully describe the gentleness and quiet resilience I felt in this film that I’m choosing as my special mention. I was completely drawn in and felt like I was the small child listening in on these lively conversations of others, learning their characters and mannerisms, and feeling the love they all had for one another.”
Set in Iran ‘And Granny would Dance’ follows six-year-old Marmar who 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 it is a tale of love, grief and resilience across generations.
Maryam first worked with Fonic on her award winning short ‘And Life Went On’ back in 2007 whist a student at the RCA. From the beginning Maryam was delighted to have found a company that resonated so well with her working practice noting: “I love the working process I have developed with Fonic and over the years we have developed a real understanding of terminology. I love the mixing stage the most. It is a truly interactive and collaborative process. Here I can expand ideas that bubble to the surface and we experiment, I really appreciate the power of sound as part of the moving image”.
Head Dubbing Mixer at Fonic Christopher Swaine notes: “Working on this film was an incredibly enjoyable and engaging process. To achieve the sound of a myriad of overlapping voices we mic’d up a studio, rather than each individual actor, thereby capturing the space, richness and depth heard within the dialogue. Due to the environment we created, the actors, although scripted also riffed off each other creating those real and almost impossible to recreate moments within a babble of conversations. The end result captured a real life authenticity”
Fonic also recorded all the musical elements, and the accordion, played by Mark Bousle became a vital part of the mix not only as part of the score bit also as a character within the film. Chris notes “Choosing the right kind of microphone to capture both the bass and the treble notes without interfering with Mark’s playing took a few attempts to get just right” Music was also provided by percussionist Parham Bahadoran who played a metal tray that was also portrayed in the film Chris explains” Choosing the right kind of tray and metal to capture the right sound and the right rhythm and cadence that was specific to the music of that part of Iran was a great achievement”
Maryam has noticed how others have reacted to the audio in her films she states: “The sound in my films is always positively commented on at film festival. In my work, I use textures and layers; it’s important for my work to have a feeling of real life and familiar details and Foley artist Sue’ Harding is perfect for that. She understands these details and creates familiar experiences beautifully. I think getting the right balance between the actors and the foley and the score is down to the time spent at Fonic working on the mix”
As well as in ‘And Granny Would Dance’ that layering and texture can be heard to brilliant effect in her other shorts such as ‘Red dress no straps’ and her BAFTA winning short “Grandad was a romantic.” Reflecting on the relationship with Maryam head of Fonic, Barnaby Templer, summaries: ”In the 18 years Fonic have been collaborating with Maryam we have developed and cultivated a sound pallet unique to her films and created something very special. We are so honoured to be a small part of ‘And Granny Would Dance’s’ success”, Maryam’s loyalty to her creative team is demonstrated in the film’s composer too. The film includes a beautiful score by film and TV composer Tanera Dawkins. This is her fifth collaboration with Maryam initially working on ‘Grandad was a Romantic’.
As ‘And Granny Would Dance’ continues to garner accolades on the festival circuit Fonic are delighted that others are also enjoying Maryam’s latest work.
‘And Granny Would Dance’ was produced by Animate Projects, and supported by the BFI through its Short Form Animation Fund, which is made possible thanks to National Lottery funding.
