TEHRAN – A festival Iranian children’s film festival was held in Sarajevo, the capital city of Bosnia Herzegovina, from June 5 to 8.

The Soureh Cinema Organization of the Art Bureau of the Islamic Ideology Dissemination Organization and the SkyFrame animation studio organized the festival in collaboration with the Novo Sarajevo International Center for Children and Youth.

The festival opened with “Dolphin Boy”, a SkyFrame animated movie by Mohammad Kheirandish.
 
In this movie, a little boy survives a plane crash and is rescued by a young wild dolphin. They grow up together, entertaining marine life with their funny tricks. One day, the peace of their joyful world is destroyed by an evil octopus.

The festival went on with a screening a Soureh acclaimed animation “Loupetoo” by Abbas Askari.

The movie is about Mr. Kamali, the owner of a sanitarium who treats patients by teaching them to make toys. The toys are creative, so they are very attractive for the children. But when the toy studio shuts down because of sabotage, it adversely impacts the patients’ critical mental status. Mr. Kamali tries hard to solve the problem but he is unable to do anything and becomes terribly disappointed and sad. And then an angel of hope appears.

“Loupetoo” has won awards at several international festivals, including the award for best animation film at the 2022 Ahmedabad International Children Film Festival in India.

“Mobarak”, a movie with live-action and animation by Mohammadreza Najafi-Emami, was also screened.

Starring Elnaz Shakerdoost, the film is about a storyteller who performs puppet plays based on stories from the Shahnameh, the masterpiece of Persian poet Ferdowsi. Major changes occur in the life of Golpari, the storyteller’s grandchild, when the puppets in her grandfather’s stories come to life.

The festival ended with “Little Heroes” by Hossein Qenaat.

In this action comedy, smugglers are planning acts of sabotage to shut down a factory manufacturing pens, pencils and other office supplies. Five children, whose fathers are working at the factory, enter to trace the smugglers to avoid the shutdown.

Bosnia Herzegovina has previously hosted several Iranian cultural festivals.

Five Iranian movies were screened during a six-day festival organized in the Bosnian city of Bijeljina in December 2017.

Photo: A poster for an Iranian children’s film festival organized in Sarajevo, Bosnia Herzegovina.

MMS/YAW