January 4th, 2024 
Jackson Murphy 
Director Yegane Moghaddam’s Annecy-winning Our Uniform is now one of the 15 finalists for the 2024 Best Animated Short Film Academy Award. It’s about an Iranian girl who recalls her school days and, specifically, what she had to wear. Clothing is a major component of the story and the unique look of Our Uniform, as Moghaddam describes in this Animation Scoop Q&A. (This Email Interview was edited for length and clarity.)
Jackson Murphy: What inspired you to choose this topic for your film?
Yegane Moghaddam: The inspiration came from my lived experience. When you live in a country like Iran, you don’t have to think too hard to find ideas. The ideas will find you! We are surrounded by ideas. Every morning when you wake up, there’s a new headline and thus a new story. And of course the topic of Hijab has always been a hot topic in Iran, especially in the very recent years.
JM: As an adult, what surprised you in thinking about school days?
YM: After I finished my 12 years of education at school, it took me another 12 years to erase my brain of everything I learned at school. I felt contaminated. Later, when I spoke with my friends from different countries, they also had the same feeling about their education system. So I wondered, is there anyone who ever liked their school and enjoyed it? Or do we all regret the years we lived inside our classrooms? That surprised me the most.
JM: How did you decide on the clothing materials to use?
YM: It was not a difficult decision. I opened my wardrobe and used everything I had. Those are all my own clothes in the film.
JM: What did you enjoy about playing with proportions / sizes for this short?
YM: When creating a visual atmosphere and universe for my stories, I enjoy destroying the pre-existing perspectives and building up new ones… like when you see the school uniform becomes the playground for those tiny students. It makes the film more poetic and more imaginative.
JM: How do you hope people embrace their uniqueness / individuality / differences?
YM: When I embrace my uniqueness and differences, I should come to this deep understanding that other people are also as unique and different as me. Being unique doesn’t make me anything special, but it should make me more tolerant and respectful to all the other different opinions out there.
JM: How was the Annecy experience, including the award win?
YM: Annecy was such a huge opportunity to meet the most amazing people and filmmakers and learn a lot from the masters. I returned back from that festival with lots of inspiration, so many new friends and a beautiful award, which was motivating.
JM: What would an Oscar nomination mean to you?
YM: There are a lot of good films on the shortlist which makes it very difficult to guess the final five! If I get nominated, it only means I was more lucky than the other contenders.
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