''Falafel Cart'' is a 2019 animated family short

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

produced by RoyalTales and directed by Abdullah Al-Wazzan with an original score by Dan Phillipson and

sound design Sound design is the art and practice of creating sound tracks for a variety of needs. It involves specifying, acquiring or creating auditory elements using audio production techniques and tools. It is employed in a variety of disciplines including ...

by Andrew Vernon. The short blends

stop motion Stop motion is an animated filmmaking technique in which objects are physically manipulated in small increments between individually photographed frames so that they will appear to exhibit independent motion or change when the series of frames i ...

animation with

traditional A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examples include holidays or ...

and some

computer animation Computer animation is the process used for digitally generating animations. The more general term computer-generated imagery (CGI) encompasses both static scenes (still images) and dynamic images (moving images), while computer animation refe ...

. In 2019, the film was submitted for the 2020

Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film The Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film is an award given by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) as part of the annual Academy Awards, or Oscars, since the 5th Academy Awards (with different names), covering the year ...

making it

Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...

's first short film to ever be submitted to the

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

. In 2020 The film earned an official selection at the

Hiroshima International Animation Festival The International Animation Festival Hiroshima is a biennial animation festival hosted in Hiroshima, Japan. The festival was founded in 1985 by ''Association International du Film d'Animation'' or ''ASIFA'' as ''International Animation Festival f ...

in the best of the world program. In 2021 the film won best animated short at the

Burbank International Film Festival The Burbank International Film Festival (BIFF) is an annual film festival held since 2009 in Burbank, California, United States. It was founded by Val Tonione, and awards are distributed to filmmakers that have focused on social and environmental i ...

. In 2019 the film won best international short film at the Los Angeles Animation Festival.

Plot

During a stormy night, an immigrant

falafel Falafel (; ar, فلافل, ) is a deep-fried ball or patty-shaped fritter in Middle Eastern cuisine (especially in Levantine and Egyptian cuisines) made from ground chickpeas, broad beans, or both. Nowadays, falafel is often served in a p ...

vendor who lives in his cart in the middle of nowhere stumbles upon a mysterious flower. The extraordinary encounter sparks something within him and eventually makes him relive scenes from his past life.

Production

The film was inspired by the ongoing conflicts in the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

, highlighting the impact on people who are merely seeking a better life. The project first came to life after Al-Wazzan started to experiment with a different form of animation that employed a combination of

stop-motion Stop motion is an animated filmmaking technique in which objects are physically manipulated in small increments between individually photographed frames so that they will appear to exhibit independent motion or change when the series of frames i ...

, computer generated animation,

claymation Clay animation or claymation, sometimes plasticine animation, is one of many forms of stop-motion animation. Each animated piece, either character or background, is "deformable"—made of a malleable substance, usually plasticine clay. Tra ...

and

traditional animation Traditional animation (or classical animation, cel animation, or hand-drawn animation) is an animation technique in which each frame is drawn by hand. The technique was the dominant form of animation in cinema until computer animation. Proce ...

. The filmmaker single-handedly animated the entire film, built and painted hundreds of models, puppets and backgrounds in a span of three years in order to achieve a distinct world for the film.

Release

''Falafel Cart'' first premiered theatrically in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, California on September 13, 2019. The film then began its festival run at the Los Angeles Animation Festival on December 8, 2019 where it won Best International Short Film. In 2021 ShortTV obtained non exclusive distribution rights to the film for release on its live channels and streaming platforms. On September 11, 2021 the film screened at

AMC Theatres AMC Entertainment Holdings, Inc. (d/b/a AMC Theatres, originally an abbreviation for American Multi-Cinema; often referred to simply as AMC and known in some countries as AMC Cinemas or AMC Multi-Cinemas) is an American movie theater chain fou ...

Burbank Burbank may refer to: Places Australia * Burbank, Queensland, a suburb in Brisbane United States * Burbank, California, a city in Los Angeles County * Burbank, Santa Clara County, California, a census-designated place * Burbank, Illinois, ...

as part of the

Accolades

The film received the following awards and nominations:

References

External links

* * {{IMDb title, tt9419864 Kuwaiti short films English-language Kuwaiti films 2019 animated short films 2019 films Films about refugees 2019 war drama films 2010s fantasy drama films 2010s English-language films