TEHRAN – The 42nd Tehran International Short Film Festival (TISFF) has announced the jury members for the International Competition and AI sections.

According to the festival website, the jury panels include prominent national and international figures in the realm of short film.

Iranian filmmaker Saeid Ebrahimifar, Dutch director Thom Palmen, Romanian filmmaker Mirona Radu, Polish director Damien Kocur, and Chinese animation director Joe Chang constitute the jury panel of the International Competition of the 42nd TISFF. 

The esteemed international figures will judge the selected works in the fiction, animation, documentary, and experimental categories.

Saeid Ebrahimifar is a film director and screenwriter. In addition to directing and screenwriting, Ebrahimifar has established his personal style in Iranian cinema through a poetic and experimental approach to both narrative and imagery. His first feature film, “Nar-O-Ney”, is regarded as one of the outstanding and enduring works of Iranian cinema. 

His other notable films include “The Eid of Those Years”, “The Confrontation”, “Lonesome Trees”, and “Maybe It Wasn’t Love”. His works have participated in numerous national and international festivals, having played a significant role in introducing thought-driven Iranian cinema. 

Thom Palmen is a Dutch curator, producer, and artistic director with over 30 years of experience in international films and arts festivals.

He was the co-founder and artistic director of Umeå International Film Festival (1986–2007), establishing it as a leading platform for independent cinema. He has also served as a jury member at numerous prestigious film festivals, including Berlinale, Sofia, Tampere, FESPACO, IndieLisboa, and Puchon, in addition to serving as a Mentor at Visegrad Animation Forum, Tampere BootCamp, and Minimalen FilmExpo. 

Palmen is also the developer of the Film7Days project in Russia and a member of the European Film Academy.

Mirona Radu is a Romanian filmmaker, researcher, and cultural manager with nearly 20 years of experience in the film industry. Radu is the founder and festival director of Film O’Clock International Festival. 

She has also been running the “Her Story, Her Future” mentorship program supporting women in the film industry, in addition to acting as the artistic director of Pilgrim in the Romanian Lands, ABIFF – Animation Bucharest International Film Festival, The Palestinian Film Festival in Romania, and CineEuroConnect.

Radu has also served as a jury member at prestigious international film festivals, including Venice and Sarajevo.

Damien Kocur is a Polish director, screenwriter, and producer. His debut feature, “Bread and Salt”, had its world premiere in the Orizzonti section of the 2022 Venice Film Festival, where it won the Special Jury Prize. 

His latest short film, “As It was”, was nominated for the Palme d’Or at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival. His second feature “Under the Volcano” premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2024. He is also the recipient of the Polish Film Award for “Discovery of the Year”.

Joe Chang is a Chinese animation director and professor. In 1990, he moved to Canada and worked as an animation director for the National Film Board of Canada, creating the animated short film “The Chinese Violin”. 

In 2002, Chang went to Hangzhou, China, where he founded the animation program at the China Academy of Art and served as vice president, professor, and doctoral supervisor at the School of Media and Animation. 

His films have been selected at more than 200 international film festivals, including the Cannes Film Festival, Annecy International Animation Film Festival, Ottawa International Animation Film Festival, and Zagreb International Animation Film Festival.

The esteemed jury panel of the International AI Competition of the 42nd TISFF consists of the Iranian filmmakers Tiyam Yabandeh and Amir Saharkhiz, as well as Tunisian animation director Neda Dagdoug. 

They will evaluate the selected films at the AI section of the International Competition of this year’s festival.

Tiyam Yabandeh is an Iranian filmmaker, curator, and researcher in experimental cinema and new media, XR and AI. He is also a member of the Educational Council of the Iranian Youth Cinema Society as ISFA representative. 

He has served as a selection committee member and jury member at the Tehran International Short Film Festival, ISFA Awards, Nahal International Film Festival, Sayeh Film Festival, and Silent Film Festival. 

In 2015, as a winner at the Palm Springs International Film Festival, he received a scholarship from the Lee Strasberg Theater and Film Institute. His films have been screened at prestigious festivals such as Palm Springs, Camerimage, Leeds, Ojai, and Philip K. Dick Film Festival.

Amir Saharkhiz is an Iranian writer, director, and producer. He has served as president of the Animation Guild Board of Directors for three terms and been a member of the jury and selection committees for the Tehran International Short Film Festival.

He has created the animations “Enigma,” “Iranian Chat,” “À La Mode,” and “Breaking News,” in addition to designing visual effects for the TV series “Mokhtarnameh,” “The Delight of the Flight,” and the films “About Elly,” “Blood Game,” “A Cube of Sugar,” “The Song of Sparrows,” and the Academy Award winning film “A Seperation”. 

Saharkhiz is the recipient of the Best Visual Effects Award at Fajr Film Festival, Best Artistic Achievement Award at the International Children’s Film Festival, Best Visual Effects and Animation Award at the Iranian Cinema Celebration, Special Jury Prize at the Tehran Animation Festival, and Best Short Animation Award at the Tehran Short Film Festival.

Nada Dagdoug is a Tunisian caricaturist, humorist, illustrator, educator, and animation Filmmaker. Since 2019, she has also been the organizer and instructor of “Grif Graf” workshops for children, combining her talents as an illustrator, educator, and animation filmmaker. 

Her filmography and publications include “Tfaïl/2005,” published in 2016’; “Gleg/2013,” a satirical animated capsule, and “Lovely Rabbits/2023,” created in response to the genocide in Gaza. In 2025, she published the first part of an educational docu-fiction series “Yeza”.

The Tehran International Short Film Festival stands as one of Asia's most prestigious and widely recognized platforms for short films, celebrated for its dedication to creative excellence, innovation, and the promotion of diverse voices in cinema. 

Organized by the Iranian Youth Cinema Society (IYCS), a leading organization in short film production and education, the TISFF is an OSCARS®-qualifying festival, renowned for embracing innovation while celebrating cinematic tradition. 

The 42nd Tehran International Short Film Festival will run until October 24.

SS/SAB