Tasting The Moon (2016)

 An Animated Trilogy of Impressionistic Dream Sequences

featuring the First Generation of Contemporary Female Artists in Afghanistan. Comprised of 3 segments, Tasting the Moon spotlights three Afghan female artists as individual artists. Each animation is created by drawing inspiration from re-occurring metaphors in their work. In this collaborative attempt, director Chan explores the symbiotic relationship between female minority artists and their roots.


In 2013, I flew to Afghanistan with a portable green screen and filmed the First Generation of Contemporary Female Artists in Afghanistan.

The artists include: - Shamsia Hassani, the first female graffiti artist in Afghanistan; Malina Suliman, feminist artist whose family was targeted by the Taliban; and Nabila Horkahsh, head of the Berang Arts organization.

The idea of this project began with a curiosity in female minority artists such as myself. In my research, I came across these Afghan female artists and discovered overlapping themes and metaphors between their art and mine. The main parallel was our suffocation within our cultural confinements, and our desire to be free. In collaboration with Kabul Art Project and the Berang Arts Organization – I was able to meet the artists, interview them, pitch the storyboard and film them against a green screen. Subsequently, I created ‘Tasting the Moon’ – an animated trilogy of impressionistic dream sequences inspired by recurring metaphors in each artist’s work. Each animated segment spotlights and features the artists themselves – exploring the symbiotic relationship between female minority artists and their roots.


Awards & Honors
+ Won Best Animation at the 14th Annual Female Eye Film Festival 2016
+ Won Best Music Video at the 6th Annual Los Angeles International Underground Film Festival 2016
+ Won Best Student Short at the 10th Annual Indie Fest USA International Film Festival 2016
Official Selection
+ The 12th Annual Blue Plum Animation Festival 2016
+ The 6th Dada Saheb Phalke Film Festival 2016
+ The 3rd Annual Fine Arts Film Festival 2016
+ The 14th Annual Female Eye Film Festival 2016
+ The 5th Annual Women's Independent Film Festival 2016
+ The 6th Annual Los Angeles International Underground Film Festival 2016
+ The 10th Annual Indie Fest USA International Film Festival 2016
+ The 2nd Annual MoonFaze Feminist Film Festival 2016
+ The 6th Annual Alice Fest Film Festival 2017
+ The 16th Annual Melbourne International Animation Festival 2017
+ The 1st Annual Nepal America International Film Festival 2017 (Semi-Finalist)



Director: Dawn Chan
Producer: Tereza Beniakova
Music: RYAT/ Brainfeeder
FX Production: Studio 0

Canon 7D/ Adobe After Effects / Autodesk Maya/ Adobe Premiere / Adobe Illustrator / Adobe Photoshop
In collaboration with Kabul Art Project and Berang Arts Organization

© 2016 Studio 0. All Rights Reserved.