Feature films flood Iran’s children’s festival
Entries of feature films for Iran’s International Film Festival for Children and Youth have more than doubled this year despite difficult conditions in recent months, the festival’s secretary said on Tuesday, as organizers prepare to introduce new sections and technical awards.
Hamed Jafari, chief executive of the Farabi Cinema Foundation and secretary of the festival, said at a news conference in Tehran that the overall number of submissions had increased significantly, with feature film entries more than twice last year’s level, IRNA reported.
He did not give the number of Iranian or foreign films submitted.
Jafari said organizers had expected the February US-Israeli war and developments in recent months to affect film production and filmmakers’ participation, but “production increased significantly”.
He said the higher number of submissions would allow the festival secretariat to make a more detailed selection in terms of both quality and quantity.
This year’s program includes new sections on artificial intelligence and documentary competition. Jafari described artificial intelligence as “a reality that must be addressed correctly”.
Another new section, called “Mirror”, will examine children’s and youth films released in cinemas, on television and on platforms between the previous festival and this year’s event. It will cover issues including audience attraction, product development and advertising campaigns.
Organizers said all other special sections had been removed this year in honor of the children killed in Minab, a city in southern Iran, with the “Minab Award” becoming the festival’s only special section.
A screenwriting competition titled “The School I Used to Attend” will also be held as part of the Minab section. The award commemorates 168 people killed in a US airstrike on an elementary school in Minab on February 28, most of them schoolchildren.
The festival will also introduce technical awards for crews working behind the scenes on children’s and youth productions. Jafari said the move was intended to give greater recognition to those involved in the production of films outside the spotlight.
The 38th International Film Festival for Children and Youth will run from Oct. 3 to Oct. 8 in Isfahan, central Iran. The festival will be held alongside the Youth Filmmaking Olympiad in Isfahan, with films, child and youth jury activities, workshops and specialist meetings brought together at a single venue.
The event is organized jointly by the Farabi Cinema Foundation and Isfahan Municipality.