10,200 Films from 145 Countries Enter Tehran Short Film Festival
WANA (Sep 08) – The 42nd Tehran International Short Film Festival has received an unprecedented 10,200 film submissions from 145 countries, underscoring its growing status as a major hub for emerging global filmmakers. Recognized by the Academy Awards, the festival will run from October 19 to 24, 2025, at the Iran Mall Cinema Complex in Tehran.
According to organizers, the largest share of entries came from China with 3,650 films, followed by Spain (891), India (494), the United States (452), and both France and Brazil (323 each). Submissions span diverse categories including fiction, documentary, experimental, animation, AI-driven cinema, and “New Horizons.”
Meanwhile, two Iranian productions are making waves abroad. The short film “Anarchy”, written and directed by Majid Kazemi and produced by Roham Rasouli in collaboration with the Iranian Youth Cinema Society, has been selected for the competition section of the 15th FENACIES International Film Festival in Uruguay. Founded in 2012 and endorsed by UNESCO, the festival is dedicated to promoting youth creativity through film. “Anarchy” has already appeared at festivals in Tunisia, Spain, Greece, Romania, and Albania. The story follows a single mother navigating bureaucratic hurdles while enrolling her son in a new school.
Another Iranian short, “Birthday”, directed by Raheleh Karami and produced by Hojjat Babaei, has entered the lineup of the 33rd ECOCINE International Festival of Environment and Human Rights in Brazil. This long-running event, one of the oldest of its kind, will coincide with the COP30 climate summit in Belém and feature both in-person and online screenings from October 7 to December 5, 2025. The film, starring Shaghayegh Faryadshiran and Mahana Ekhlas, portrays a young girl’s anticipation of her birthday — a day she hopes will become the happiest of her life.
With thousands of entries and a growing international profile, the Tehran festival is positioning itself not only as a showcase of Iranian cinema but also as a crossroads for global short film culture.
Tehran Short Film Festival. Social Media / WANA News Agency
