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.




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

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