Saah
“Saah” is an augmented reality graphic novel by Syd Fini about a brave boy who speaks for the innocent in a war ravaged city in the Middle East. He weaves through the rubble and bombard streets to confront a ruthless sniper randomly targeting the city’s birds. Scan the pages with the augmented reality app and see the book come to life. Foreword by renowned scholar and writer Reza Aslan. Additional illustrations by Neda Kazemifar and augmented reality design by Ram Devineni.
Syd Fini’s wordless graphic novel is a beautifully wrought yet jarring glimpse into the everyday reality of a people living through war. This truly could be “anywhere” — Aleppo, Gaza, Sarajevo. There are far too many cities around the world devastated by years of asymmetrical warfare between powerful government forces and people armed with little but resilience. — Reza Aslan
ISBN: 978-1-892494-58-0 (Print) / ISBN: 978-1-892494-60-3 (eBook)
Library of Congress Control Number: 2021943991
The animation is reminiscent of Michel Gondry’s cutouts. Syd Fini plans to use cutouts and animate the film with sequential still photos. The video example in the works sample is a prototype of the style and will give you an idea of what will be achieved. Once the scenes are animated, they will be integrated in the augmented reality and readers can scan the pages with the AR app to see the pages come to life. The beautifully illustrated book and mounted exhibitions becomes a pop-up book/exhibition
SYD FINI started working in Arya comics and directed and wrote Back From The Other Side, Turquoise Guardian and Stars on Earth short animation films. He works as a storyboard artist at the Mill New York and Psyop. He recently finished his graphic novel Saah, about a boy who tries to save pigeons in a fictional middle eastern city torn by war. Syd designed the art for the augmented reality comic book, “Priya and the Lost Girls,” and “Priya’s Mask."
“Saah” is supported by New York State Council on the Arts with the support of New York State Governor and the New York State Legislature.