TEHRAN – The 9th Iranian Film Festival in Tokyo was launched on Friday at the Libra Hall of the Minato City Gender Equality Center in Tokyo, Japan. 

The event is organized by the Cultural Attaché office of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Japan, in collaboration with the International Affairs Center of Minato City, the Minato City Municipality, NPO MOCT, and the Tehran Peace Museum, ILNA reported.

A special focus of this year’s festival is the theme of the “Martyred Children of Minab” and reflecting on its human dimensions through related programs and works.

On February 28, the Shajareh Tayyebeh elementary school in Minab, Hormozgan province, became the site of a devastating massacre as the United States and Israel initiated their strikes against Iran. While dozens of girls and boys aged between 7 and 12 were beginning their lessons, the school was targeted by a missile strike that caused the building to collapse, trapping children and teachers beneath the rubble. Iranian authorities confirmed a final death toll of 168 people, with at least 95 others wounded, marking one of the most harrowing incidents of the conflict's opening day.

During the opening ceremony, which was attended by the Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran to Japan, the Iranian Cultural Attaché, and various Iranian and Japanese cultural and artistic figures, the family of the martyred Makan Nasiri was also present as honorary guests.

Makan Nasiri was a seven-year-old Iranian boy who was killed in the US missile strike. He is the only child from the attack whose remains were never recovered, despite a 140‑day search of the rubble. An empty grave was created in his honor, and his belongings—a blood‑stained blue sweater and a single cream‑colored sneaker—are preserved in a glass case at a neighborhood mosque. Experts believe a direct missile strike on Makan Nasiri left no recoverable remains.

Renowned musician, composer, and researcher of Southern Iranian music, Mohsen Sharifian, will also perform pieces on the ney-anban (bagpipe) in memory of the children of Minab on Saturday.

This year’s festival features a total of six feature films and two documentaries, all screened with Japanese subtitles. The lineup includes feature films “Land of the Angels” (2026) directed by Babak Khajehpasha, “Hoor’s Tears” (2025) by Mehdi Jafari, “Fragrant” (2023) by Hadi Moghadamdoost, “No Prior Appointment” (2022) by Behrouz Shoaybi, “Bodyguard” (2016) by Ebrahim Hatamikia, and “The Wind Carpet” (2003) by Kamal Tabrizi, as well as the documentaries “Ameneh’s Golden Blood” (2025) by Habib Ahmadzadeh and “Minab” (2026). 

Another notable highlight of this year’s festival is the invitation of the director and a Japanese actor from the film “The Wind Carpet,” a joint production between Iran and Japan. A panel discussion and speeches by these guests will be held following the screening of the film.

The 9th Iranian Film Festival in Tokyo, which is open to the public, will run through August 2.

SS/SAB