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Artist Name: Shirin Sohani
Interviewer: Mohsen Omidvar Moghadam
Interview Date: October 2017
CG Aria: Greetings, dear Shirin Sohani! Please introduce yourself to CG Aria users. What year were you born, and what is your field of study?
Shirin Sohani: Greetings to you and the esteemed users of CG Aria educational media. I am Shirin Sohani (My official name is Fatemeh), born in 1986 in Tehran, with a master’s degree in Animation from Tehran University of Art.
CG Aria: When did you become interested in art, and when did you start working professionally?
Since I can remember, I have loved painting. Therefore, when choosing my field of study, I didn’t care about others’ opinions (who mostly recognized Mathematics and Experimental Sciences) and entered an art school, obtaining a diploma in Graphic Design.
Before entering university, I never thought of choosing any field other than Graphic Design, but everything changed in practice. I was accepted in the Handicrafts program at Tehran University of Art, preferring it over Graphic Design at a non-profit university (which was one of my mistakes!). I was happy to gain a new experience. However, after a few semesters, I realized I couldn’t connect with hard materials. I enjoyed glass, wood, and metal workshops, but not as much as holding a pencil and brush in my hand and drawing on paper!
Anyway, I spent four years in those workshops and finally became sure I had no interest in continuing in that field.
CG Aria: Tell us about the early days of your interest in this art. How did you start, what made you decide to pursue this path, and what methods did you choose to learn?
At first, I was interested in short animations and occasionally watched them, but when I thought about continuing my education, jumping from one branch to another was unpleasant for me. I was afraid of entering the world of animation, which was entirely different, new, yet lovely. However, I finally made up my mind.
During the short master’s program, I tried to quickly increase my knowledge and skills in this field. My growing interest in this field every day motivated me to learn more. Besides university, working as an intern in an animation production company helped me understand the animation-making process better and start my activities as an intern.
CG Aria: What is your main area of expertise, and in what branches have you worked so far?
Mostly decoupage, storyboard, character design, and texturing.
I started my professional activity as an intern, and then some parts of the work were assigned to me, including decoupage, storyboard, character design, and texturing.
CG Aria: What major projects have you worked on so far, and what are your defined goals?
The projects I participated in were usually TV series, short commissioned works from the Tehran Municipality, or the Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults. The only project I directed was my graduation project animation called “Fan”.
After graduation, I joined Barfak Studio and was responsible for designing environments, compositing, and production management in the short animation “Run Rostam Run” (directed by Hossein Molayemi). Recently, I have started co-directing a short animation with Mr. Hossein Molayemi, commissioned by the Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults.
Animation “Fan” Details:
- Writer and Director: Shirin Sohani
- Character Design, Environment, and Texture: Shirin Sohani
- Modeling: Mehdi Zahmatkesh Nazari
- Rigging, Layout, Render, and Composite: Alireza Malmiri
- Animator: Lida Khosravanipour
- Editing: Hossein Molayemi
- Sound and Music: Danial Ostade Abdolhamid
- Producer: Shirin Sohani
Awards of Shirin Sohani
Domestic and International Awards:
- The first Iranian animation Oscar 2025
- Best Animation Award at ANIMARTE Festival, Brazil 2014
- Best Animation Award at EASTERN BREEZE Festival, Canada 2015
- Second Place at CTLPDX Festival, USA 2015
- Best Animation Award at Isfahan Children and Youth Festival, 2014
- Nominated for Best Directing at Isfahan Children and Youth Festival, 2014
- Best Film Award at Khorshid Film Festival (with the theme of the most beautiful dreams), 2014
- Certificate of Appreciation and Diploma of Honor from Roshd and Varesh Festivals, 2014
- Selected among the top fifteen films by audience votes at Tehran International Short Film Festival, 2014
- Best Animation Screenplay Award in the National Competition at the 9th Rouyesh Religious Short Film Festival, 2014
- Best Student Directing Award at the 9th Tehran International Animation Festival, 2014
- Nominated for Best Environment Design at the First Animation Celebration in the 17th House of Cinema Festival, 2015
CG Aria: How do you see the future of CG in Iran?
I always try to see the future as bright! The future of anything in Iran: art, animation, CG, and so on. This optimistic outlook motivates me to work more, and with this perspective, I have achieved better results so far.
CG Aria: What advice do you have for beginners?
Focus and perseverance. If they truly love their field, they should endure its hardships. Becoming a specialist requires sacrificing many other activities (both useful and useless) to focus on a particular field and make a name for themselves, and of course, earn a living from it.
CG Aria: How do you spend your free time? Tell us about your hobbies and pastimes.
I love my work so much that if I had no other hobbies (besides this work), I wouldn’t complain. Usually, in my free time, I enjoy the company and conversation of my family, whom I see less often these days 🙂
Naming some hobbies has become cliché, but they are genuinely the best leisure activities for me, such as taking care of plants, chatting with friends, reading books, and sometimes getting a good sleep! 😀 Watching movies is both a top-class lesson and a pastime!
CG Aria: Thank you for giving us your time. We wish you more success, dear artist.
Thank you, with the best wishes.
