ICFF holds first press conference

The 30th edition of the International Film Festival for Children and Youth has held its first press conference.

Alireza Rezadad, director of the festival, elaborated on a number of changes that were considered for this edition of the event.

“We changed the time of the festival to respect the religious months of Muharram and Safar, to benefit more from children’s leisure time, and to establish the custom of going to movies regularly,” he said.

“The cinema organization, the city hall of Isfahan, and Farabi cinema foundation have signed an agreement to hold the children and youth film festival in the cultural city of Isfahan,” Rezadad added.

He also noted that the organizers decided to separate the children’s category from the youth’s in this edition of the event so that the movies in each category will be judged and awarded independently.

“Although all sections will be held with due consideration, we have paid special attention to the animation section this year. We did our best to keep the balance between children movies and youth,” the festival director said. "I think the animation section will surprise everyone.”

Considering the great potential in the industry, he said “We should support our animators more. They are both talented and expert at what they do. It is a shame not to give them the required space to express themselves when international film festivals have welcomed them warmly in the recent years.”

Rezadad further noted that the festival must try hard to attract more audience to children movies and the selection committees only chose films which were directly related to children and youth.

The International Film Festival for Children and Young Adults is organized annually by the Farabi Cinema Foundation in affiliation with the Iranian Organization of Cinema and Audiovisual Affairs.

The event celebrates films made for children and youth. It also supports emerging filmmakers with innovative cinematic visions and ideas.

The 30th edition of IFFCY is slated for June 30 to July 6, 2017 in the Iranian city of Isfahan.

MG/MMF