In 2003, the literary world celebrated the genius of a little-known graphic novel called Persepolis. Written and simply drawn with black and white illustrations by Marjane Satrapi, the book told the story of the author’s childhood in Iran after the revolution. It’s an eye-opening tale, detailing events that most Americans would never known occurred, as well as showing that women in Iran were treated very differently in the days before the overthrow of the Shah’s regime that we could ever have imagined. In fact, they were progressive and embraced feminism.
A story that is at turns gripping, harrowing and touching, Persepolis gives a child’s point of view on some critical historical events that occurred in her home nation. She shows dethroned emperors, heroes of the revolution, and admirable family members as they struggle with radical changes in their world.
Now, Satrapi has turned his story into a feature film, and it should be expected to play heavily into the Best Animated Film race at the Oscars. It won the Jury Prize at this year’s Cannes Film Festival as well as the Special Jury Prize at the Cinemanila International Film Festival and Most Popular Film at the Vancouver International Film Festival. She worked on the film with the French Vincent Paronnaud, aka comic book artist Winshluss. The film will have a singular visual style consistent with Satrapi’s drawings, and the subject matter is compelling and the kind of thing that will serve as perfect awards bait. Look for it to be a strong sleeper at the end of the year. (Kim Hollis/BOP)
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