“About Dam and Hofit” is a 19 min short animated film. It is the story of the forbidden friendship between Dam, the tip of mount Damavand in Iran and Hofit, an air force plane from Israel. Their unexpected encounter dares them to reimagine a friendship against all odds.

made in collaboration with the artist Leila Zelli. Film instagram page.

Since the Islamic revolution of Iran in 1979, Iran and Israel have canceled their diplomatic ties. Both governments have sworn to attack one another as soon as the opportunity arises. Any relationship between an Iranian and an Israeli is banned. Only in a distant and neutral place can the possibility of an encounter exist.

We are two critical artists and film makers, Leila (from Iran, based in Montreal, Canada) and Gali (from Israel, based in Berlin, Germany), have decided to oppose the narrative of fear and rivalry created by the governments of Israel and Iran and create our short animation “About Dam and Hofit”.
While being aware of the risks and barriers in a possible collaboration between an Iranian and an Israeli artist, In April 2019, we agreed to cross the lines and jump over the political rules we grew up with. Our friendship sets an example for a change that can come from ordinary people and not necessarily from the political situation.

The script is inspired and conducted from our daily conversations, the questions we dared to ask each other and the trust in the friendship we have developed. These meetings took place digitally for two years since the outbreak of Covid 19.

Official selections:

Athens Animfest (Athens, Greece) 2023 - Distinction in Experimental competition

Animatricks Animation Festival (Helsiniki, Finland) 2023

PÖFF Shorts - Black Nights Film Festival (Tallin, Estonia) 2022

Spark animation (Vancouver, Canada) 2022

Queens world film festival (New York) 2022

Future Film Festival (Bologna, Italy) 2022

TiSFF * THESS INTERNATIONAL SHORTS (Thessaloniki, Greece) 2022

Beijing International Short Film Festival (Beijing, China) 2022

TIAF- Tbilisi International Animation Festival (Tbillisi, Georgia) 2022

Eco(Systems) of Hope, MTL Connect (Montreal, Canada) 2022

Semi Finalist:

Blow-Up Arthouse Filmfest · Chicago

Honorable mention:

Montreal International Animation Film Festival - ANIMAZE

supported by: National Film Board of Canada, Canada Council for the Arts, Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, Framed - Berlin