Hamid Rahmanian is using shadow puppetry to challenge perceptions of Iranian culture

Visual artist and filmmaker Hamid Rahmanian brings his shadow puppetry to Toronto this weekend. He stops by the q studio to discuss his show and how he hopes it'll widen people's perception of Iranian culture.

CBC Radio · Posted: Mar 09, 2017 8:45 AM EST | Last Updated: March 9, 2017

Visual artist and filmmaker Hamid Rahmanian in the q studios in Toronto, Ont. (Melody Lau/CBC)

Hamid Rahmanian is an award-winning visual artist and filmmaker. He has worked on Disney films such as Tarzan and Dinosaur. He's also an Iranian immigrant to America.

With Trump's recent travel ban, Rahmanian wants to challenge perceptions about modern Iran. Not about the government, per se, but about the everyday people who live there. And despite having an impressive background in computer art and digital animation, he has chosen a very different medium to spread his message: shadow puppetry.

"Shadow puppetry is the place where filmmaking and graphic design meet in the middle," Rahmanian argues.

But this is shadow puppetry like you have never seen before.

Rahmanian's show, Feathers of Fire, is based on the traditional Persian Book of Kings, and has sold out shows across the U.S. It touches down in Canada at the Toronto Centre for the Arts this weekend. For more information on it, head over to their website.