The 21 (Tod Polson, 2024) — Fantasy/Animation

The 21 (Tod Polson, 2024) - Trailer

In 2019, MORE Productions was contemplating its first animated film project. Having worked on live-action features like The Ticket (2016) with Dan Stevens and Martin Scorsese’s Silence (2016), MORE’s co-producers Mark Rodgers and Mandi Hart knew the world of live-action filmmaking well. They also knew it was not the best creative choice for the story they were seeking to tell - the story of 21 men (twenty Coptic Egyptians, one Ghanaian) kidnapped, tortured and ultimately martyred by ISIS in an infamous video published on February 15, 2015. Inspired by the aesthetically rich and culturally authentic work of Cartoon Saloon, Mark and Mandi began to consider animation as the approach for their short film. Although Cartoon Saloon was not able to participate in the project, they recommended one of their former Creative Directors, Tod Polson, to helm the project. Polson spent months developing the film story and concept art. The narrative evolved slowly, shaped by interviews with the martyrs’ families, other Copts, former ISIS members, and journalists embedded with the Libyan army. Early in the project, Polson traveled to Egypt to visit the martyrs’ home province, where he met surviving family members and the local bishop. He took dozens of photographs and videos for reference and maintained contact with sources in Egypt and elsewhere as the film was being produced.

**Fig. 1 - *The 21* (Tod Polson, 2024).**

His Eminence Archbishop Angaelos of London was a key advisor to the project from its earliest stages. He reviewed versions of the script and provided key feedback on the telling of the story as well as casting decisions and the art. The entire team was grateful throughout the process for his attention to detail and investment of time and consideration. For Polson, there was never any doubt that the film would be anything but 2D. Traditional animation has a unique ability to make challenging subjects more approachable. Moreover, because iconography is central to the Coptic faith, 2D animation allowed for a seamless incorporation of the rich imagery and symbols of the Coptic tradition into the film.

Icons are distinguished from other imagery by both their creation and their “function.” They exist as windows into the supernatural, a connection point between worshiper and the spiritual world. The process of their creation is both reverential and relational, as the iconographer spends time contemplating the angel, saint or martyr being depicted and praying for divine guidance in the work. Polson had a similar experience in developing the concept art for the film, spending hours reviewing iconography from various disciplines, speaking with iconographers and testing different visual approaches.

Key to the film’s art were the particulars of Coptic iconography, which was influenced by the Pharaonic aesthetic of ancient Egypt - thick black lines around the eyes, size differentials between the Pharoahs and his subjects, etc. Colours also have specific symbolism within Coptic iconography: white for purity and holiness; red for sacrificial death and martyrdom; blue for the mysterious depths of God; gold for God’s glory (Fig. 2). Similarly, shapes have meaning in the Coptic iconographic tradition: the circle symbolizing eternity; the vertical suggesting heaven’s movement towards earth and the horizontal representing movement from the individual outwards to others and the creation.

During Polson’s time in Egypt, he spent time with Coptic iconographers in order to understand more fully the symbology described above and the process of their creation. All the lessons learned informed the film’s art and provided a lode star for the production process. Likewise, the film’s score and sound design were shaped by the acoustic heritage of the martyrs’ homeland. Classically trained Coptic musicians Sarah and Laura Ayoub were engaged early in the process to compose and record an original soundtrack for the film. With feet in both Egypt and in the Coptic diaspora, the Ayoub sisters brought traditional instruments and an authentic aural heritage to their work. Specifically, they included a duduk, which is a reed woodwind instrument commonly played in the Middle East and the Caucasus region. Additionally, they recorded a haunting rendition of a Coptic funeral prayer for the final credits sequence. Using vocalists whose own heritage is rooted in the region, Sarah and Laura made a unique contribution to the project. The Ayoub sisters’ sophisticated symphonic score was simplified for the final film but will be released as a stand-alone musical memorial to the martyrs. In the same vein as the Ayoub sisters, sound designer Giles Lamb leaned into the sounds of the region to craft an acoustic palette true to the martyrs’ birthplace.

Over nearly five years of production, artists from more than 24 countries contributed their time, passion and talent to the film. 2D animators from places as diverse as South Africa, India, Iran and Romania worked in different software, different time zones and on different aspects of the film. The animators utilized a variety of tools, including TVPaint, Toon Boom Harmony, Adobe Animate, Procreate Dreams, and even traditional paper. To maintain a cohesive visual style, most of the cleanup drawings and animation coloring were completed in Toon Boom Harmony.

At certain junctures, animators connected with one another to ask questions, exchange advice and learn from each other. Each work-in-progress received thorough review by the director and Tod regularly connected with the film’s artists to discuss his feedback and answer any questions. All their individual contributions were brought together into an exquisite work of art that counters a narrative of hate with a story of devoted love.

A closing word from the director: My deepest hope is that The 21 serves as a tribute to the martyrs and their families. In a world that seems more than ever in need of such powerful examples of faith and resilience, I believe their story is more vital than ever. - Tod Polson

**Article published: December 6, 2024**

Biography

Mandi Hart is a filmmaker and attorney specializing in creative content development and production and intellectual property. She worked in documentary film production before obtaining her J.D. She is also President of Cave Pictures Publishing, an independent publisher of spiritually resonant comic books and graphic novels. Mandi is a screenwriter and published author of various articles concerning film financing and copyright protection in the age of social media.