The Route, written and directed by Tehran-born animator Babak Beigi, has been officially selected for the 2025 Open World Animation Festival (OWAF) in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Screening on November 9 in the “Iranian Independent Animation” showcase, the short depicts a truck driver who transports prisoners to their executions until one night compels him to confront the violence he serves. With painterly visuals and stark moral depth, The Route continues its strong festival run following selections at Animafest Zagreb, Tokyo Anime Award Festival, and Seoul Independent Animation Festival.
Raft Films has announced that The Route, the acclaimed animated short written and directed by Babak Beigi, has been officially selected for the Open World Animation Festival (OWAF), taking place November 6–9, 2025, at the Roxy Theatre in Allentown, Pennsylvania. The film will screen as part of the “Iranian Independent Animation” showcase on Sunday, November 9, at 4:00 p.m. (program runtime: 90 minutes).
Set in a stark, war-ravaged world, The Route follows a truck driver tasked with transporting the condemned to their executions — until a single night forces him to confront the machinery of violence he has long ignored. Blending painterly visuals with tightly wound, character-driven storytelling, the short explores guilt, complicity, and moral reckoning through an aesthetic both poetic and unsettling.
Tehran-born animator and filmmaker Babak Beigi has crafted six short films to date, drawing inspiration from cinema, literature, and visual art to build emotionally resonant narratives in accessible, visually arresting form.
Before its selection at OWAF, The Route played at major international festivals including Animafest Zagreb (A-class, Oscar-qualifying), the Tokyo Anime Award Festival (International Competition), and the Seoul Independent Animation Festival (Asia Competition), among others — positioning it as one of the few Iranian animated works to achieve sustained global exposure.
Founded in 2016 as a grassroots celebration of animation in all its forms, the Open World Animation Festival has evolved into a four-day showcase spanning stop-motion, cel, CG, claymation, experimental hybrids, music videos, and game cutscenes. Despite its eclectic range, the festival maintains a curatorial focus on bold, boundary-pushing storytelling — a fitting home for Beigi’s haunting vision.
Cause of Death: Unknown, written and directed by Ali Zarnegar and produced by Majid Barzegar, represents Iran at the 2026 Academy Awards and will compete in the Main Competition of the 11th Asian World Film Festival (AWFF) in Los Angeles. The film, set in Iran’s haunting Lut Desert, follows seven
The Iranian feature Cause of Death: Unknown, directed by Ali Zarnegar and produced by Majid Barzegar, has been officially selected as Iran’s submission for the 2026 Academy Awards. Represented internationally by Raft Films, the film has already won major prizes.
The Iranian drama Cause of Death: Unknown, directed by Ali Zarnegar, has officially been selected by Iran’s national committee as the country’s representative for the 2026 Academy Awards. The unanimous decision underscores the film’s artistic significance and its growing recognition on the global stage.
Every once in a while, a film rises beyond its plot and characters to hold up a mirror to an entire society. Cause of Death: Unknown, directed by Ali Zarnegar, is precisely such a work — not just a story, but an odyssey. Unfolding over the course of a night
