TEHRAN – Seven films from Iran are present at the XII International Festival of Children's and Family Films “Zero Plus”, which is underway in Siberia, Russia.

The Iranian films include the feature film “Snowy Summer” directed by Setayesh Sasani Nejad and short films “Being Ten” by Fatemeh Jafari, “Tomorrow Is Not Like Today” by Seyyed Mahdi Karbasi, “Memory” by Fereshte (Sonya) Fardipur, “Eraser” by Mohammad Hasan Emadi, “Silently” by Sahar Mahmudi, and “Playground” by Samaneh Asadi, Mehr reported.

A 2025 production, “Snowy Summer” is the story of a boy with Down syndrome, left without a family. He tries to escape from a private boarding school for special children to start a new life.

Produced in 2023, “Being Ten” is a short animation depicting a father and his ten-year-old son who live in a secluded house in the middle of a dense forest. The father, a hunter, decides to spare one of his preys and brings it home as a gift for his son. What initially seemed like just a toy will change the boy's life forever.

In “Tomorrow Is Not Like Today,” produced in 2024, Hossein and Reza are close friends, studying in the fifth grade at Isar State Elementary School. The joy of Hossein's goal during physical education class leads to a strange conflict between Reza and their teacher, Mr. Ahmadi, but the story turns out to be more complex than just a quarrel.

The 2024 short film “Memory” tells the story of Saeid, a ten-year-old boy who one day gets into big trouble because of a lie.

A production of 2025, “Eraser” shows Sohrab, a hooligan, bullying other students. An accident happens in class, and he is blamed, but this time, he turns out to be the hero and savior of the situation, and in the end, he reforms and becomes a decent person.

“Silently” is a 2025 production that depicts Aysan, a hearing-impaired boy who has lived a stressful and sad life. At school, he is blamed and becomes the victim of an incident, but due to his fears for Ash's family, he doesn't open his mouth to speak up or defend himself.

The 2022 short animation “Playground” shows a bored little girl whose Illness and the monotony of hospital life have worn her down, until one day she receives a very special toy. 

International Children's and Family Film Festival “Zero Plus” seeks to promote and popularize high-quality films, which foster a positive, creative, and formative worldview in children and young people, strengthen common human values like family, childhood, friendship, kindness, nature, love for a profession, etc.

It also aims at the integration of cinema and education by creating a collection of value-oriented films for carrying out educational screenings in schools and social institutions in Russia.

Launched on October 5, the 12th edition of the “Zero Plus” international film festival will wrap up on October 27.

Photo: A scene from the short animation “Being Ten” directed by Fatemeh Jafari

SS/SAB