MAKE Announces Three Winners of the 2025 Animation Thesis Grant
December 6, 2025
Director/co-founder Reza Dolatabadi and his team at new prodco NOBORDER, rev up a gripping brand film set on the storied Interlagos Formula 1 track in São Paulo for the Aston Martin Aramco F1 team and their sponsor Coinbase.
Reza Dolatabadi: “When this new brief arrived, I proposed an animated piece that avoided the familiar visual language of glossy engines, hyper-polished CG, and impossible camera moves. I wanted to approach it as a grounded, cinematic film that happened to be animated.
“This is a high-octane, rapid-cut animation that puts you right on the tarmac, with drivers Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso narrating the experience of racing through Interlagos.
“We always try to work with a small, lean, and self-managing team. It’s the only way I’ve learned to make animation and actually enjoy it.”
“We created the entire animation and environment in Blender. The workflow involved projecting 2D textures and backgrounds onto 3D surfaces, which gave the world a distinct and cohesive visual character.
“We always try to work with a small, lean, and self-managing team. It’s the only way I’ve learned to make animation and actually enjoy it. The trust from the client was incredible — they gave us full creative freedom and backed every bold decision we made.
“With that kind of support and the talent of the team, we managed to squeeze thirty shots into just five weeks. Keeping things compact means less noise, faster decisions, and more of the budget ending up on screen. That focus is what shaped this film and helped us build something that feels true to the world we were depicting.”
Client: Coinbase, Aston Martin
Production: NOBORDER
Director: Reza Dolatabadi
Art Director: Ehsan Moghani
CG Supervisor: Mehdi Azadeh
3D Animator: Shahab Serwati
2D Animator/FX: Yasin Haghighi, Shahab Serwati
Environment artist: Mahnaz Soleyman Nejad, Alfonzo Toledo, Ehsan Moghani
Producer: Carolina Pineda
3D Assist: Arnold Abadie
Color: Atomica
Colorist: Paco Macotela
Producer: Jorge Cruz
Music Production: Atomica Publicidad
Music: Diego Cáceres
