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As enthused as I am over the big budget, widescreen Hollywood animated blockbusters en route to the cineplex this summer, I’ve been keeping my eye on this little black & white hand-drawn film based on Iranian author Marjane Satrapi’s comic book autobiography.

We’ve posted about it before, Persepolis is a coming-of-age story of a young Iranian girl that begins during the Islamic Revolution and follows her to Austria as a teenager at school, where she struggles to overcome stereotypes and predjudices. What it lacks in Hollywood visual pyrotechnics, it more than makes up for it with an intelligent story and realistic characters. It looks to be one of the most refreshing films of the year.

Check out the blog with many behind-the-scenes podcasts, the trailer (embedded below) and these clips (in French): Clip 1, Clip 2, Clip 3.

Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud co-wrote and are co-directing the film, which is coproduced by 2.4.7. Films and the Kennedy/Marshall Company.

Jerry Beck

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