by While working for Kavaleer Productions, a children’s animation company, director Andrew Kavanagh came across an article in The Guardian newspaper by Israeli novelist Dorit Rabinyan. As director and producer respectively, Andrew and I applied for Screen Ireland’s ( the Irish Filmboard at the time) competitive Frameworks grant. And we were delighted to be awarded it in 2007.
The article was a moving piece about Dorit’s friendship with Palestinian artist Hasan Hourani. During a time of continued turmoil, their friendship, formed while they were both exiled in New York, spoke of two amazing people who had lived so close to each other but had never felt so far apart.
Hasan was an artist and illustrator and we saw this as a wonderful opportunity to bring his drawings to life. So we set about recreating Hasan and Dorit’s story through traditional animation. This was a long and complex journey, on a very tight budget as we strove for perfection with our realistic tale. Our beautiful short film was eventually completed in 2009 and went on to screen at several festivals across the world. It was also nominated for an Irish Film and Television Award in 2010.
Awards Won:
Grand Prix, Digital Media Awards, 2010
Best Animation, Digital Media Awards, 2010
Best Animation, Aesthetica Film Festival, 2011
Watch the film here:
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