Our Uniform

In Iran's entry for the 2024 Best Animated Short Oscar, a woman reminisces about the hijab she had to wear at her school, while images unscroll over fabric.

It's a cleverly done metaphor about how choice of clothes both conceal and reveal, but in some ways it's fairly close to "Radio With Pictures", that field of movie-making which seems to make the images of small importance for what the movie has to say. Still, I found it a cheeky entry, from its opening credit in which the audience is assured there's no intent to imply anything wrong about being forced to wear such garb, and so no reason for this not to be shown in its country of origin.

This a short fairly straightforward animated film about a girl growing up in Tehran, Iran which means she has to go to a segregated school for girls and that she has to wear a school uniform including a hijab. Our narrator does question the strict the strict dress and appearance code in a gender segregated school.

The simply narrated story is surprisingly effective - and is aided in this by the very beautiful animation which makes very good use of the clothing, fabrics and objects.

While the message is obvious it does not directly criticize the environment that has been created here.

Not necessarily my favorite of the 2024 Oscar Nominated Animated Shorts - but it is my favorite animation of the nominees.