Our Uniform (2023)

Our Uniform Review

Our Uniform is a 2023 animated short film directed by Yegane Moghaddam. It’s an overly safe movie.

The film documents Moghaddam’s experience with hijab, using the hijab itself as a canvas for animation. This is another short movie nominated for an Oscar this year that didn’t appeal to me much. First things first, the animation is stellar. This is the primary reason to see this short as the movie uses clothing and embroidering as an art form and a style of its own. It fitted the subject matter at hand beautifully and it looked quite artistic.

But everything else was subpar. The narration was fine and the main character is quite likable, but the director failed to fully explore the implications of wearing a hijab and just how dehumanizing this is for women in these Muslim countries. There is even a disclaimer at the beginning that the movie is not attacking those who wear hijab and that was particularly disappointing and just lame to me. It frustratingly lacked conviction and bravery.

Our Uniform is gorgeously animated and artistic, but lacking the bravery and conviction necessary to tackle this difficult subject.

My Rating – 3.5