Student Showcase: Gilgamesh by Neda Ahmadi

University?

University of the Arts London

Who?

Neda Ahmadi as maker and Tom Lowe as sound engineer

What?

The film is based on the Epic of Gilgamesh. It dates back to third millennium BC, Sumer (modern border between Iraq and Iran).

The film begins at the end, when Gilgamesh loses the Plant of Youth to a snake and through a flashback/dream sequence we get to know about his best companion and friend, Enkidu and his death. Gilgamesh’s despair and his journey in search of eternal life.

How?

There are two different technique used through out, one is Plasticine or animation clay, manipulated and moved frame by frame on glass, lit from underneath by a lightbox and shot by the camera from the top. The other is with the same equipment but Glycerine and ink is used to depict the under water world. It is all done by hand and there is no CGI or computer-generated imagery as the challenge was partly to explore how the possibilities and limitations that come with a traditional technique effects the process, the artist and the audience, in a world where artistic integrity is often sacrificed for the sake of speed and efficiency.

Next Project?

I am working on a music video, commissioned by an internationally known musician. I am developing the similar technique further.

Which Film do you wish you could have made?

I find myself extremely lucky to live during the times, when numerous talented and innovative animators and film makers have lived.
I believe the process of making animation is a very uniq experience each individual artist goes through and although we can see the struggle, joy and achievement of the maker in the final result, it’s the personal journey that interests me the most, the journey as divers as artists going through.