The White Whale



2020



Animated Short Film

Long years ago, a young man lost his friends in an air attack on a big river. After 30 years, He is looking for their remains. A White Whale is the only sign he has.

Written and Directed by Amir Mehran
Animator: Jalal Naeimi
Concept and Background Designer: Naeim Azad
Character Designer: Abolfazl Boroumandi
Composer: Pejman Khalili
Sound Designer: Arash Ghasemi. Mohammad Ghasemi
VFX and 3d Compositor: Masoud T.Momeni
Compositor and Editor: Amir Mehran
Storyboard Artist: Amar Ghanbarzade
Color Grading: Hamidreza Fatourehchian. Borna Jamshidi
3D Modeler: Mohammad Shahrabi
Produced by Amir Mehran
In Association with Aduren Studio
Production Company: Documentary and Experimental Film Center (DEFC)
Animation | 10 Min | 2020

Awards
- 36th Warsaw International Film Festival, Competition 1-2 Section, 9-18 Oct. 2020, Poland - Best Short Animated Award (Oscar Qualified)
- Anima Cinefest International Animated Film Festival, 18 Oct. 2023, US - Anima Award du Film
- The first of Milan Shorts Film Festival,28 July 2023, Italy - Best Animation
- ANIMA2021, XI Córdoba International Animation Festival, October 4-6, 2021, Argentina - Special Jury Mention
- ISSAR, The First International Film Festival (Iran), May 19-24, 2023 - Winner of Best Animation
- The 12th Tehran International Animation Festival (TIAF) Iran, March 6th to 10th, 2022 - Golden Prize for the Best Sound
- The 1st Youality International Short Film Festival, 7-8 November 2022, France - Honorable Mention
- 55th Humboldt Int’l Film Festival, April 2022, US - Animation Best of Fest
- The Clapperboard Golden Festival, March 14-18, 2022, Brazil - Winner of Best Animated Film
- Blackboard International Film Festiva, January 2022, Kerala, India - Winner of Best Animated Film
- 18th Frames Film Festival, April 2021, India - Winner of Best Animation Films Award
- 14th Razavi National Film Festival, 2021, Iran - Second Place Award

Festivals
- Nominated for Best Animation Award at 7th Gbeck Future Film Festival 2021- Canada (not screened)
- Nominated for Best Animation Award at the 37th Tehran International Film Festival (Iran) 2020
- 3rd Indie Film Awards (IFA), Feb 20, 2024, Pakistan
- 1st Edition of Human Screen Festival. CHILD (HSFC), December 20 - 24, 2023, Tunisia
- CURIOSA Shorts, Oct 2023, Granada, Spain
- 4th of 2D & 3D Animation Film Festival, 20 Aug 2023, Italy
- AniMaji Festival, August 2023, US
- Palm Springs Animation Festival & Expo, 1-3 July 2023, US
- 1st Brighton International Animation Festival, 14-15 Apr. 2023, UK
- 2nd Denver Short Film Festival - Feb 23rd, 2023, US
- Animac, International Animation Film Festival of Catalonia, 23-26 Feb 2023, Spain (Future Talent)
- 9th International Short Film Festival Canton, Jan 9th to 11th, 2023, China
- Shockfest Film Festival, Dec 10th 2022, US
- 8th Birmingham Film Festival, 4-13 Nov 2022, UK
- 12th annual Arlington Int'l Film Festival, 3-6 Nov. 2022, US
- Africa International Film Festival, 3 - 6 Nov. 2022, Nigeria
- 5th Tbilisi International Animation Festival (TIAF), 2-5 Nov. 2022, Georgia
- Rising Sun International Film Festival, 2-5 Nov. 2022, Japan
- 6. Malatesta Short Film Festival Cesena, 26-30 Oct. 2022, Italy
- 2nd Kursaal Film Festival San Sebastián, 12-30 Sept. 2022, Spain
- 1st FKM Novigrad, 16-18 Sept. 2022, Croatia
- 13th edition of One Country One Film, 9-11 Sept. 2022, France
- 7th Ridgefield Independent Film Festival (RIFF) August 2022, US
- Tatra International Film Festival (TIFF) August 26-28, 2022, Slovakia
- 2nd Scambi Festival - August 25-28, 2022, Italy
- 1st International Film Festival "Akrobat." August 26-27, 2022, Russia
- 1st Edition of Animare Licata Animation Film Festival, 14-17 Jul. 2022,  Italy (Finalist)
- One Earth Awards, June 2022, India
- The XLNT Film Festival, June 2022, US
- Nickel Independent Film Festival, June 13-19, 2022, Canada
- 2022 San Diego International ShortsFest, May 20-22, 2022, US
- 18th Athens Digital Arts Festival | FutuRetro, May 2022, Greece
- Changing Face International Film Festival, March 2022, Australia (Finalist)
- AniMate, Australia Animation Film Festival, March 2022 (Finalist)
- Tayf International Short Film Festival, 24-27 Oct. 2022, Turkey (Finalist)
- The Vaughan International Film Festival, June 20-23, 2022, Canada
- 16th International Short & Independent Film Festival, Dhaka 2022. 25 Feb. to 4 Mar.
- 15th International Children's Film Festival 2022, March 5-11, Bangladesh
- Iranian Film Festival Washington-Museum of Asian Art Smithsonian, Feb. 2022, US
- 5th Slemani International Film Festival, Kurdistan, 17-23 Dec. 2021, Iraq
- 15th Kunturnawi Ecuadorian Film Festival, 4-26 Nov. 2021, Ecuador
- 4th Russian Indie Film Festival (RUIFF), 5-7 Nov. 2021, Russia- Saint Petersburg
- 4th Flor Azul International Short Film Festival, 25 Sept.-16 Oct. 2021, Argentina
- 20th Imagineindia International Film Festival, 24 Sept.- 9 Oct. 2021, Spain- Madrid
- 5th Chaniartoon 2021, International Comic & Animation Festival, 13-28 Sept. 2021, Greece
- 51st USA Film Festival, 21-25 April 2021, US
- 24th Shanghai International Film Festival(SIFF), 11-20 June 2021, China (International Screening)
- 37th Cartoon Club International Festival of Animation Cinema, Comics, and Games -12-18 July 2021, Italy
- 15th River Film Festival, 1-25 July 2021, Padua, Italy
- 9th The International Animated Film Festival "Constantine's Gold Coin," 12-16 July 2021, Serbia
- 6th Zabut International Animated Short Film Festival, 22-25 July 2021, Italy
- 15th ANIMART Festival, July 20 - 25, 2021, Greece