Tariq Rimawi’s ZOO gets a Jury Special Mention at Baghdad Film Festival

release date February 15 2024

Tariq Rimawi’s Jordanian animation ZOO has received a Special Mention from the Animation Films Jury at the Baghdad Film Festival — which ran from February 10th to the 14th in the Iraqi capital — marking a promising kick-off for the film in 2024 after a successful festival run last year.

This is the latest trophy to be added to the film’s well-decorated shelf, with the most recent award being the Best Animation Film Award at the Olympia International Film Festival for Children and Young People and a Best Short Animation Award at the Bahrain Film Festival.

The film’s other awards include the Best Short Animation Award at the Tangier, Beirut Shorts, and Shorty Week international film festivals.

ZOO world premiered at the Red Sea International Film Festival and held its European premiere at the XXIV International Festival Corti da Sogni Antonio Ricci — where it won the Giuseppe Maestri Prize for Best Animation — and was featured at the Short Film Corner of Cannes.

The animated short then went on to screen at over 20 international film festivals, including the Lebanon Short Film — where it won the Tripoli Best Animation Award — Lady Filmmakers, Sharjah Children’s, Ismailia Short and Documentary, and Toronto’s Palestinian international film festivals.

ZOO follows Sami, who wanders through the worst zoo in the world while looking for his ball, and then crosses paths with a little tiger named Laziz, who follows him on his quest to find a safe place to play. Against all odds, they become friends. But the remnants of war harbor danger.

Written, directed, and edited by Tariq Rimawi, the film is produced by Moritz Mayerhofer and Aminah Abdat of StudioNICE Creative, was supported by Jordan’s Royal Film Commission, and received a co-production prize from the Robert Bosch Stiftung Foundation.

Tariq Rimawi is an independent Jordanian animated film director, scriptwriter, and academic whose films have received regional and international awards and have been screened at over 200 international film festivals. His filmography includes SURPRISE, GROWING, and MISSING.