Flight from a Dark Past: ‘Shadows’ Director Randy Beiruty Discusses Her Oscar-Qualified Animated Short

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“Animation can soften the edges of very difficult topics, making them easier for audiences to face without losing their weight. That combination of protection, imagination and emotional depth is why animation felt like the right choice for Shadows.”

— Director Rand Beiruty

In the 2024 documentary Tell Them About Us, director Rand Beiruty followed the lives of teenage girls who fled Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, Kurdistan and Romania to new homes in Germany. As she was researching that project, she met a teenage mom named Ahlam who left her home country of Iraq to begin a new life abroad. Her life story inspired Shadows, an acclaimed 2D-animated short which was nominated for top prizes at Annecy, Venice and Zagreb festivals this year.

“Ahlam was was 15 years old then when I met her in 2019, and telling her story on camera didn’t feel right,” Beiruty tells Animation Magazine. “She was in a vulnerable moment, but it was also clear that she wanted to speak. I found animation to be the most ethical and evocative way to bring her story to life, one that could hold both her vulnerability and her strength.”

Beiruty says something about the young mother’s presence and the way she spoke to the director stayed with her. “It made me feel that her story needed time and care to unfold,” she explains. “I wrote a script and proposal and applied to Anidox in Denmark and the Animation du Monde workshop in Lebanon. Being selected to both was encouraging, and at Animation du Monde the project won an award and received an invitation to pitch at MIFA during the Annecy [International Animation Film Festival].”

Because of the COVID pandemic, Annecy was virtual that year. “It was disappointing to miss the in-person exchange, but that moment also shaped the project,” the director recalls. “We managed to connect with our French co-producer, which gave the film new momentum and a clearer path forward. With our talented creative team and our great producers, we secured the necessary support, and production took place in the first half of 2024 at the Ciclic Animation residency in France. We received the news of our selection to Venice even before starting post-production, which was a wonderful surprise. So while development and financing took a couple of years, the production and post-production phases were incredibly focused and a lot of fun!”

The visual style of Shadows is meant to immerse the audience in Ahlam’s inner world. “The animation creates a parallel universe where the realistic setting of an airport is intertwined with fantastical elements that reflect her emotions, memories and fears,” the director notes. “The color palette is bold, creating a contrast to the harshness of the story and reminding us that the person speaking is still a child. I am grateful to every member of the creative team who contributed to the film’s final look. In particular, I feel very fortunate to have collaborated with the Polish artist and animator Marta Magnuska, who brought a distinctive sensibility of style and perspective that shaped the visual language of the film in essential ways.”

Style in the Service of Substance

The director says she’s interested in animators who use form and style to serve the story they are telling. “Every choice in animation can add emotional weight and shape how we experience the world of the story,” she explains. “One short that has stayed with me for years is Zepo by César Díaz Meléndez. Its sand-on-glass animation is not just a visual choice, the shifting grains become part of the narrative’s tension and fragility. The stark contrast of dark and light gives the snowy setting a haunting feeling, and the technique makes the violence feel raw and inevitable. Watching shorts at festivals always inspires me. It reminds me how many possibilities there are within animation and keeps me curious and engaged, always searching for the visual language that best carries each story.”

Beiruty also believes that animation allows the artist to make subtle statements about important issues such as the plight of immigrants all over the world. “When talking about migration, there is often so much noise, with headlines, statistics and politics making it easy to lose sight of the individual experience,” she says. “Animation strips that noise away and allows us to focus on the emotions at the heart of the story. It allows us to stay with the individual’s subjectivity, their memories, and their emotional landscapes.”

She hopes after seeing her short, audiences will remember and admire Ahlam’s courage and determination. “If someone watching the short is going through a difficult moment, I hope her story gives them the feeling that they are not alone and that they too can keep going,” says Beiruty. “I also hope it encourages audiences to listen more deeply to voices like Ahlam’s and to recognize the power and insight young people can bring when they are heard.”

For more information, visit randbeiruty.com.