Interview with Master Abolghasem Nazarpour

Interview with Master Abolghasem Nazarpour at the booth of the Specialized Association of Children and Media at the Isfahan Children and Young People Film Festival

Interviewer: Ms. Mina Hashemi

Abolghasem Nazarpour, born in 1953, is a well-known director, producer, and animator. He became familiar with the art of animation in 1969 (at the age of 16) and began his experimental activities. At that time, living with his family in Khorramshahr despite the lack of facilities and resources, by preparing a Super 8 camera and designing and building a light table and a filming table, he experimented with a number of short works lasting a few seconds before 1957, but his first short animation film (in the true sense of the word) was made in 1957. The 20-minute film “Top and Tapoli”, produced using candy box cellophane, colored markers, and in Super 8 format, as his first animation work, won the best animation film award at the Sari Film Festival (1957), and this was a very promising start. The occurrence of the Islamic Revolution and subsequently the outbreak of the imposed war unintentionally created a five-year hiatus until his next work. In 1980 (at the age of 27), he was employed by Fars Province Broadcasting and worked there for 8 years until 1988. 9 cel animation short fiction films – a stop-motion puppet series – four short single-part bumpers and two multi-part cel animation short bumpers were among Abolghasem Nazarpour’s most important activities during those 8 years, the most famous of which was the opening credits of Channel 1 TV’s children and young people program, which was broadcast almost every day on Channel One TV between 1984 and 1994. In creating the credits, designers such as Dr. Sasan Liaqat, Javad Kazemi, Maryam Mortazavi, and Ms. Sayafan collaborated with Nazarpour. Some of these individuals, who were active in the field of animation in those years, no longer work in this field for various reasons. Abolghasem Nazarpour currently lives in Isfahan and is active at the Nazare Independent Animation Cinema School. Perhaps Abolghasem Nazarpour never thought that the credits he produced in the form of cel animation (traditional 2D) at the Fars Province Broadcasting Center would become so enduring and a reference for recalling the bitter and sweet memories of several different generations.

One of the master’s nostalgic works was making the opening credits for children’s programs.