TEHRAN – Two Iranian short films were among the winners at the 28th Olympia International Film Festival for Children and Young People, which was held in Pyrgos, Greece, from November 29 to December 12.
“Zaaghi” (also known as “Pica”) written and directed by Sepideh Berenji and “The Angels” by Mahdi Zamanpour Kiasari were the two Iranian winners in the festival.
A production of 2025, “Zaaghi” was selected as the Best Short Fiction Film by the International Youth Jury, ISNA reported.
In the 15-minute flick, an immigrant girl named Zaaghi, who claims she comes from the depths of the sea, believes that the bottom of the ocean is no place for children to live. She gets into a taxi and asks the driver to take her to a grand party organized by children at the easternmost edge of the city, at the end of its darkest alley.
Born in Tehran, Sepideh Berenji, 33, holds a Bachelor’s degree in Persian language and literature and a Master’s degree in cinema, both from the University of Tehran. She began her artistic journey in her teenage years through poetry and fiction, participating in literary conferences and publishing her work in leading Iranian literary magazines.
During her university years, she made several experimental student films, which led to the creation of her first professional short film “Raya”. The film earned significant recognition both in Iran and internationally, screening at renowned festivals such as the Zlín Film Festival, BUFF Malmö, Ale Kino!, Sehsüchte, and SCHLiNGEL.
Alongside her filmmaking career, Berenji teaches literature and cinema to children, teenagers, and adults. She is currently the CEO of Maajara Film School, where she also develops innovative educational projects in the fields of film and the arts.
The 2024 documentary “The Angels,” 17 minutes, received a Special Mention from the International Short Film Jury.
The film depicts little Zahra, who lives happily with her blind parents in the chaotic conditions of Syria. This 7-year-old child owes her good mood to her parents, whom she calls “angels sent by God” as a gift.
Olympia International Film Festival for Children and Young People started in 1997 as a bold and innovative festival that would present quality European cinema to children, adolescents, and young people, as well as to educators, parents, and film enthusiasts, in the small provincial city of Pyrgos in the Region of Western Greece.
After two and a half decades of consistent work in the field of children and youth audiences, the festival is recognized as the largest children and youth film organization in Greece, with strong film and audiovisual literacy activities and a clear focus on European content.
Since 2018, the festival has been organized by Olympia Festival Social Cooperative, under a program contract with the Greek Ministry of Culture and Sports and the Regional Administration of Western Greece.
SS/SAB
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