MASOUD RAOUF, PRODUCER / DIRECTOR

Originally from Iran where he studied painting, Masoud Raouf has lived in Canada since 1988. After studying in the animation program at Ontario's Sheridan College, he produced and directed a number of animated shorts and public service announcements. He has also taught the art of animation in a number of institutions.

In 2002, he directed a film for the National Film Board of Canada, the documentary The Tree that Remembers, in which he tries to understand what led to the suicide of an Iranian student who was living in Canada as a refugee. The film won the Silver Award for Best Canadian Documentary at the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival in Toronto, the Golden Sheaf Award for Best Social Documentary at Yorkton and the Bronze Plaque at the Columbus International Film and Video Festival.

In 2003, he completed Blue Like a Gunshot, produced by the National Film Board of Canada's French Animation and Youth Studio. This film won the 2004 Jutra for the best short animation in Quebec, as well as winning best animation prizes at the Moondance and Vermont International Film Festivals in the same year. It has also been screened in the opening nights of several major film festivals including the Montreal World Film Festival and Toronto's Worldwide Short Film Festival.