Navozande, the Musician(2020)

When Genghis Khan's Mongol hordes invade Persia, a young musician is brutally separated from the love of his life. He still remembers though - and when a lifetime later, he is invited to play at the palace where she is being held, perhaps they might meet and rekindle their romance? The animation here is lovely and stylishly - but simply - drawn with an accompanying score from Saba Alizadeh that helps this short film tug at the heart strings. The story is one of cruelty and inhumanity, but is also one of longing, forgiveness and enduring love with the poetry that underpins being poignant and emotional too.