107 films to vie at Tehran Short fest

The Tehran International Short Film Festival (TISFF) has announced the lineup for its 41st edition, with 107 foreign films set to compete.

This year, the festival received 13,651 submissions from over 30 countries—a new record, nearly double the previous year's entries, according to IRNA.

Among the selected films are 59 short fiction films, 21 animations, 18 documentaries, and nine experimental works. Participating countries include India, China, the U.S., France, Spain, and many others.

The TISFF, organized by the Iranian Youth Cinema Society (IYCS), has been a prominent event for 40 years.

The IYCS, a well-known film school in Iran, has 80 branches nationwide and has produced hundreds of award-winning short films. Many of its graduates have become celebrated filmmakers both in Iran and internationally.

As an Oscar-qualifying festival, the Grand Prize winner of the TISFF will become eligible for consideration at the Academy Awards.

In its 41st edition, the festival is expanding its scope by introducing two new categories in response to the growing influence of cutting-edge technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI), Virtual Reality (VR), and other extended realities (XR, MR, AR).

These new categories aim to recognize and promote creative short films made with these technologies, supporting innovative storytelling and low-budget productions.

Mehdi Azarpendar, the managing director of the IYCS, will serve as the festival director. The event will take place from October 18 to 23 at Tehran’s Mellat Cineplex.