Sonsbeek 2026 x Focus: Persepolis: Animating resistance (rooftop cinema)
Sonsbeek 2026
Focus Filmtheater, Arnhem
14 August 2026,
21.00hr –
23.30hr
Filmvertoning
Inleiding
Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi adaptation of her own graphic memoir, charting her coming of age story against the backdrop of the Iranian Revolution in the 80s and her years of exile in Europe, returns to Focus. The screening is hosted by animation makers Nahid Malayeri and Narjes Mohamadi, and accompanied by two animation shorts by Iranian female directors: Our Uniform (2023) by Yegane Modghaddam and End of Summer (2023) by Tara Attarzadeh. Our Uniform tells a satiric story of an Iranian girl who revisits her school memories by exploring the folds and fabrics of her old uniform. In just 3 minutes, Tara Attarzadeh’s End of Summer presents a heartbreaking account of how a young girl sees the war unfold in front of her eyes.
Together, these works illuminate how Iranian female filmmakers harness animation, storytelling and girlhood to remember differently – claiming their own perspective within narratives that have long sought to silence them. In the context of Sonsbeek 2026, they are examples of how memory and acts of remembering are not about looking back with nostalgia, but about carving out a future path. Remembering is a powerful generative force of imagination. Following Satrapi's recent passing, and against the backdrop of ongoing political upheaval in Iran, this programme feels like a necessary act of remembrance - an ode to the powerful generative force of imagination carried by memory.
Film makers
Yegane Moghaddam is an Iranian animator and illustrator with a strong passion for nature, culture, and the world she lives in. Her debut film, Our Uniform, tells the story of an Iranian girl who revisits her school memories by exploring the folds and fabrics of her old uniform. This film is a social satire about the clothing rules imposed on young children. Over the past year, this animation has been selected for many festivals, including the Annecy Festival. It was also nominated for Best Animated Short Film at the 2024 Oscars.
Tara Attarzadeh was born in Shiraz in 1993. Initially, she pursued a bachelor’s degree in architecture, but driven by her passion for art and cinema, she chose to obtain a master’s degree in animation. Throughout her studies, she gained experience in character and background design for games, 2D animation, stop motion, cut-out animation, prop making, scriptwriting, and directing.
Speakers
Nahid Malayeri is an Iranian born animation director, motion designer, and 2D animator based in the Netherlands. After studying Architectural Engineering, she completed two master’s degrees in Animation: one at Soore University in Iran and one at St. Joost School of Fine Art and Design in the Netherlands. Her two short animations Yaar and Kakaei have won awards for Best Short Animation Film and have been selected for numerous festivals, including the Moscow International Film Festival, the American Documentary and Animation Film Festival, and Flickers’ Rhode Island International Film Festival.
Narjes Mohammadi is an illustrator, animation director, and author whose work focuses on storytelling for children and audiences of all ages. Originally from Iran and now based in the Netherlands, she has created award-winning picture books and internationally screened animated films. Her books have been translated into several languages, and her animation Hi! has been selected for more than fifty festivals worldwide. Alongside her own creative practice, she curates animation programs and gives lectures at international art and design institutions.
About Darkness Reframed
Throughout August and September, Focus Film Theater and Sonsbeek 2026 present Darkness Reframed - eight screening programs featuring cinema classics and artist shorts at the roof top cinema and in the cinema room. With introductions and Q&As afterwards, the film program opens up the space to reflect on how Western imperialisation and its inherited forms of representation have impacted memory. Departure point for the film program is the Heart of Darkness exhibition curated by Marianne Brouwer at the Kröller-Muller museum in 1994-95, which has been a touchstone for Sonsbeek 2026. Part of the exhibition was Citizen X, a video programme curated by Corinne Diserens, which will be revisited in Darkness Reframed.