About Norooz Productions

Dustin Ellis, the writer and director of Babak and Friends – A First Norooz teamed up with Producer Shabnam Rezaei, and Executive Producer Aly Jetha to form Norooz Productions. Shabnam Rezaei, founder and Editor-in-Chief of PersianMirror.com, an online magazine for the Persian community, comes with strong software, sales, and marketing background. She has managed production, web design, marketing, and sales for the project. Aly Jetha, a former Management Consultant from Bain & Company and a lawyer, has managed the business strategy, distribution, as well as all legal matters for Norooz Productions. The fourth member of the company, Mastaneh Moghadam has helped in creative design, music and planning of events. The company gathered a talented team of artists and storyboard writers from major companies such as DreamWorks, Time Warner and Disney. Character designs were completed by Rodd Miller, who evoked a sense of history by depicting a straight and square beard for Amoo Noroo, reminiscent of ancient Persian kings on the walls of Persepolis. Additional artwork by Alfred Gimeno, Joe Banaszkiewicz and John Dymer helped bring the characters to life. Woody Yocum created the “Persian Miniature” sequence, a segment of the movie that pays homage to the traditional Iranian Artform. Miniature characters come to life in a hilarious and entertaining story about the origins of Norooz. Animation for the movie was completed at Starburst Studios, the same studio that animated the Lilo & Stich sequel for Disney. A talented Iranian duo Sam Daghighian and Mehrdad Arabi, composed the musical score and arrangement for pivotal sections of the film such as the opening scene, and the Persepolis segment. Their use of traditional Persian instruments and classic style evokes the grandeur of Persia and adds a beautiful layer of history to the cartoon.

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