His father, Ali, was born a Shiite Muslim from Iran. They met in the library at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, married in 1978, and eventually settled in Russellville, Arkansas. “I grew up in the Ozarks, so I didn’t have a deep connection to my Iranian heritage,” Sarjahani told me. His family had Christmas trees and celebrated Easter but also marked Nowruz, the Persian New Year.
In the Denver Art Museum’s Art of the Ancient Americas galleries, we worked with Mexico City-based animators Hola Combo to create animations to help tell the origin stories that explain the relationship between ancient American communities and the their environment. For the Andes, we chose a story that loosely relates to the works on display. “The Legend of Ñaymlap” is an ancient story from Peru’s northern coastal communities and supposedly records the origins of the Sicán or Lambayeque dynasty (about 750–1375 CE). Within this origin story, there is a moral about the relationship between the deities and the land. As the ruler turns away from the deities, rain and floods devastate the land, starving the community.
This is the story of Old Bet, the first circus elephant in America, set to a tune sung by her friend, an old farm dog. Their story is portrayed in colorful, handcrafted animation, created frame by frame with clay-on-glass and oil pastel animation.
Animated and Directed by Lynn Tomlinson
Written by Lynn Tomlinson and Sam Saper
Music and lyrics by Sam Saper
Vocals by Deletta Gillespie and Brooks Long
Instrumentals and arrangement by Trucker Talk: Abby Becker, Greg Bowen, Jessica Keyes, Rich Kolm
Sound Effects by Elsa Lankford
Sound recorded and engineered by Shea Springer, Sweetfoot Studio
Additional animation by Lucy Saper and M.C. Tomlinson
AWARDS:
Audience Choice, Best Short Animation, Providence Children’s Film Festival, 2020
Climate, Environment, Biodiversity Prize, Festival Le Temps Presse, Paris, 2020
Best Music, TOFUZI, Batumi, Georgia, 2019
Best Narrative Short, Programmers Award, 32nd annual Virginia Film Festival, Charlottesville, VA, 2019
Best Animated Short, Sidewalk Film Festival, Birmingham, AL, 2019
ASIFA East, Independent Films, 1st Prize, NY, 2019
ASIFA East, Excellence in Music, NY, 2019
ASIFA East, Women in Animation Award, NY, 2019
Global Insights Stellar Award (Top Award), Black Maria Film Festival, 2019
Best Animation, NatureTrack Film Festival, CA, 2019
Best Short Film, Environmental Film Festival at Yale, New Haven, CT, 2019
Best Animation, Nevada Women’s Film Festival, Las Vegas, NV 2019
Best Animated Short, SENE Fest, Providence, RI, 2019
Best Sound Design, Chesapeake Film Festival, Easton, MD, 2019
Best Environmental Short Film, Chesapeake Film Festival, Easton, MD, 2019
Best Animation, Big Muddy Film Festival, Carbondale, IL, 2019
First Prize, Made in Baltimore Short Film Festival, Baltimore, MD, 2018
Best Experimental, 2nd Place, Los Angeles Animation Festival, CA, 2018
Best of Festival, Peekskill Film Festival, Peekskill, NY, 2018
Best Animation, Peekskill Film Festival, Peekskills, NY, 2018
Award of Merit for Animation, University Film & Video Association, Las Cruces, NM, 2018
Boomers Daily 