According to the Public Relations of the Farabi Cinema Foundation, this edition of the festival will be held in both competitive and non-competitive sections and will accept feature films, short films, documentaries, animations, and productions based on artificial intelligence in the field of children and youth.
In the main section of the festival, Iranian and foreign works will be evaluated in the feature film competition and the short film competition, with winners receiving the festival's Golden Butterfly awards in various categories. Additionally, the children and youth jury will also introduce their chosen selection, as per festival tradition.
In the call for the 38th edition, in addition to the main sections, sections such as the "Special Section of Minab" – focusing on children and the damages caused by the recently imposed war – and the "Mirror of Children and Youth Cinema" – for reviewing and evaluating selected works shown in cinemas, on television, and on platforms – have been planned.
According to this call, registration and submission of preview copies of works will take place from June 20th to August 23rd, 2026, and the final deadline for submitting the final version of accepted works will be September 22nd, 2026.
Interested individuals can register their works and obtain further information through the festival's website and the secretariat of the 38th International Film Festival for Children and Youth.
Regulations and Call for Entries
The 38th International Film Festival for Children and Youth will take place from late September to middle October, 2026 in Isfahan with the participation of Cinema Organization and Farabi Cinema Foundation.
The Festival Sections and Specific Regulations are as follow:
A) Competition of Long-length Films and Animation
The running time of the long-length films should be at least 75 minutes. The following prizes will be awarded by the jury:
1) Golden Butterfly for the Best Film
2) Golden Butterfly for the Best Director
3) Golden Butterfly for the Best Screenplay
4) Golden Butterfly for the Best Young or Adult Actor/Actress
5) Golden Butterfly for the Best Artistic or Technical Contribution
6) Golden Butterfly for Best Animation
7) The Special Jury Prize (Golden Butterfly)
8) The Festival Director Special Prize (Golden Butterfly)
9) The Peace Prize (Golden Butterfly)
Note 1: Given the importance of “Asian Cinema” and cultural interactions among countries aligned with the cultural policies of Islamic Republic of Iran, should there be any notable works, the festival director may present an award in recognition of the Best Asian Film.
1-1-1. In this section, the Children and Youth Jury will award the Golden Butterfly for Best Long-length Film based on the majority votes.
B) Competition of Short Films, Animation and AI-based Productions
The running time of the short films should be a minimum of 3 and a maximum of 20 minutes.
The running time of AI-based productions shall be a minimum of 2 and maximum of 15 minutes.
Note 2: Works submitted to the AI-based productions section must be in landscape format and possess a clear narrative and story structure. Short films lacking a narrative or containing non-fiction content made solely for social media platforms will not be accepted in the evaluation process of this section.
The jury will present the following awards to the winners in this section:
1) Golden Butterfly for Best Short Film
2) Golden Butterfly for Best Short Animation
3) Golden Butterfly for Best Short Documentary
4) Golden Butterfly for Best AI-based Production
Note 3: The holding of each competition section is conditional upon the submission of at least 5 film titles.
Note 4: Films selected for the competition sections must include English subtitles.
C) Special Minab Section
This section is dedicated to the theme of children and the harms caused by war. The “Special Minab Section” is titled as tribute to the memory of innocent school children of a southern city of Iran, Minab, who were martyred during the American-Zionist war against this beloved country.
C.1) Competitive Section:
The Minab Special Award will be presented to the best feature film, animation, short film, documentary, or AI-based production participating in the competition sections on the theme of “Children and the Harms Caused by War.”
C.2) Non-Competitive Section:
This section is dedicated to a review of works related to “War and Children” in Iranian and world cinema.
Rules & Regulations
1) Films will be selected by the Festival director.
2) Films not accepted in the previous editions are not eligible.
3) Films already released in Iran (theatrical, TV, VOD, etc.) are not eligible.
4) All films will be classified into 2 age groups: Children (6 - 10 years) and Youth (11 -17 years).
5) The production date of the applied films must be after January 2025.
6) In respect of the audience, if the final version is not presented by the scheduled date, the festival secretariat may withdraw the film from all the announced programs.
Film Submission
1) Applicants must first register the film on the festival website, portal.icff.ir, and then send an MP4 previewing link with English subtitles to the secretariat along with the director’s photo, biography, filmography, film poster, brochure, and at least 3 film stills.
2) The submission will be open from June 20th to August 23rd, 2026.
3) The deadline for delivering the original version of the selected film is September 22nd, 2026. If the final version is not presented on the scheduled date, the festival secretariat reserves the right to withdraw the film from all the announced programs.
4) The festival secretariat is responsible for scheduling the screening of selected films.
5) Submitting the film to the festival shall be regarded as full acceptance of the regulations and screening rules in Iran. Films that have registered and submitted a preview copy, if selected, may not withdraw from the festival, and the festival is authorized to screen them due to the schedule.
6) Taking the final decisions about special circumstances and specific cases is at the sole and absolute discretion of the festival director.
This call for entries has been prepared in three languages: Farsi, English, and Arabic. In the interpretation and clarification of the regulations and rules, the Farsi version shall be the authoritative standard.
Note: Supplementary information will be provided exclusively by the festival secretariat through the festival’s public relations.
Address/contacts of the Festival Secretariat:
Farabi Cinema Foundation /Building No. 3
2454, Corner of Lankaran St., Vali-Asr Ave., Tehran 1434843631 Iran
Phone: +98-02188194257, +98-02188194235
E-mail: intl@icff.ir
Website: http://en.icff.ir/