TEHRAN- The 38th edition of International Film Festival for Children and Youth will be held in Isfahan, with the organizers planning a range of cinematic, educational and cultural programs aimed at children and teenagers.

The festival will be jointly organized by the Farabi Cinema Foundation and Isfahan Municipality, with Hamed Jafari serving as its secretary, Mehr reported on Tuesday. 

The arrangements for holding the event in the central Iranian city were finalized through a memorandum of understanding signed by Isfahan Governor Mehdi Jamalinejad, Deputy Culture Minister and Cinema Organization head Raed Faridzadeh, Isfahan Mayor Ali Qasemzadeh, and Farabi Cinema Foundation Managing Director Hamed Jafari.

The upcoming edition is expected to draw on Isfahan’s cultural and urban capacities to create broader opportunities for children, teenagers and families to engage with cinema.

Speaking about the event, Jamalinejad said Isfahan has extensive cultural, social and administrative capacities that should be utilized more effectively in this edition of the festival.

He called for the participation of provincial cultural institutions, artists and organizations active in the field of children and adolescents, emphasizing the need to create an inclusive atmosphere for the festival both in Isfahan and at the national level.

Faridzadeh described the festival as one of the region’s longstanding and reputable events dedicated to children’s cinema, saying that protecting and enhancing its standing is a responsibility that should be pursued seriously.

He noted that holding the festival in Isfahan, with the support of the provincial administration and city authorities, provides valuable potential for a successful edition.

Faridzadeh also stressed the need to strengthen the festival’s national and international standing and use it as a platform for the development of children’s and adolescents’ cinema in Iran.

For his part, Qasemzadeh said Isfahan Municipality is ready to provide its administrative, cultural and promotional capacities for the event.

He added that efforts would be made to ensure that the festival has a visible presence across the city and that municipal facilities are used to encourage greater participation by children and families.

Jafari said this year’s festival has witnessed an increase in the number of submitted works and applications for participation.

He expressed hope that the growing interest would result in the selection of a strong lineup of films for screening during the event.

Alongside film screenings, the festival will feature special programs designed to give children and teenagers a more active role in the event. The Adolescents Film Olympiad, educational workshops and other programs focusing on young audiences are among the activities planned for the 38th edition.

According to Jafari, the festival aims not only to screen films but also to provide an environment for discovering young talent, education and developing a stronger relationship between the younger generation and cinema.

The 38th International Film Festival for Children and Youth will be held in Isfahan in the near future with the participation of the Farabi Cinema Foundation and Isfahan Municipality.

SAB/