Shadab Shayegan
Pear Garden, 07:00 min, Color, Stereo, Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg, Germany, 2024
Six-year-old Lily visits her grandmother who after a mastectomy doesn’t have breasts anymore. At night Lily finds out that the shadow of her grandma has breasts. Lily follows the shadow and tries to get the breasts back for her grandmother.
This enchanting, touching, and visually evocative animated film explores themes of loss, a child’s understanding of the body, and the transformative power of love and imagination. The shadow becomes a symbol of the invisible marks that trauma leaves behind, but also a space for possible healing.
Shadab Shayegan was born in 1993 in Tehran, Iran. At the age of 18, she moved to Vienna to study composition at the University of Music and Performing Arts, and painting and animated film at the University of Applied Arts in Vienna. From 2021 to 2024 she studied at the Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg. PEAR GARDEN is her diploma film.