Smile International Film Festival for Children & Youth (SIFFCY) 2025 unveils official selection

Smile
International
Film
Festival
for
Children
&
Youth
(SIFFCY),
hosted
by
Smile
Foundation,
in
partnership
with
the
European
Union
(the
delegation
of
the
European
Union
in
India)
announces
the
official
selection
for
its
11th
edition.
The
annual
film
festival
is
scheduled
to
take
place
between
Jan
28-30,
2025
at
Siri
Fort
Auditorium,
New
Delhi
and
several
other
locations
across
India
in
a
hybrid
mode,
in
order
to
reach
out
to
maximum
young
Indian
audience.

Enthusiastic
children
pose
for
a
photo
op
at
the
film
festival
venue
during
the
10th
edition
of
SIFFCY 

Major
activities,
from
the
opening
ceremony
to
the
award
ceremony,
will
be
held
at
the
iconic
Siri
Fort
Auditorium,
New
Delhi
on
28,29
and
30
January
2025.
Simultaneously,
multiple
screenings
and
festival-related
activities
are
scheduled
in
various
schools
and
communities
across
a
hundred
locations
across
India.
Selected
programmes
will
also
be
streaming
on
a
dedicated,
secured,
geo-blocked
virtual
platform
throughout
the
week.

Santanu
Mishra,
SIFFCY
Chairman
and
Producer
of
the
much-acclaimed
film
‘I
am
Kalam’,
says,


“Childhood
is
the
decisive
phase
of
human
life.
The
lessons
we
learn,
the
habits
we
make
as
children,
it
stays
with
us
forever.
Therefore,
it
is
important
that
we
sensitise
our
youngsters
with
a
positive
value
system,
early.”
He
adds,

“Good
cinema
can
play
a
crucial
role
in
shaping
the
young
minds,
and
can
even
help
fight
issues
such
as
depression,
loneliness,
and
aggression
that
children
and
young
adults
are
getting
prone
to.”

Official
Selection
SIFFCY
2025

Feature
films
in
competition:

Lampo
–
The
Dog
who
travelled
by
train,
by
Magdalena
Niec,

Poland

Doubles
Match,
by
Hung
Po-Hao,

Taiwan

Bigman,
by
Camiel
Schouwenaar,

The

Netherlands

Winners,
by
Soleen
yusef,

Germany

Soaring
Wings,
by
Palash
Das,

India

Greetings
from
Mars,
by
Sarah
Winkenstette,

Germany

7600,
by
Behrooz
Bagheri,

Iran

A
Butterfly’s
Heart,
by
Inesa
Kurklietyte,

Lithuania

The
Tiger’s
Nest,
by
Brando
Quilici,

Italy

Niko
–
Beyond
the
Northern
Lights,
by
Kari
Juusonen,
Jorgen
Lerdam,

Finland,
Germany

The
boy
with
pink
Pants,
by
Margherita
Ferri,

Italy

Itty
Bitty
Princess,
By
Lauri
Maijala,

Finland

Teacher,
Veterinarian,
Astronaut,
by
Reynaldo
Escoto,

Mexico

Short
films
in
competition:

Above
the
Tamarind
Tree,
by
Buthyna
Al-Mohammadi,

Qatar

Dandelions
Girl,
Azadeh
Masihzadeh,

Iran

Ballad
of
the
Mountain,
by
Tarun
Jain,

India

Skin
Color,
by
Fidel
Alfonso
Barboza
Gómez,
Sebastián
Castaño,
Colombia

Travelling
Past,
by
Rory
Power-Gibb,

The

United
Kingdom

Skipping
Rope,
by
Wu
Meryl,

Taiwan

Who
needs
Teachers?
by
Ekal
Deep
Kaur,

India

Forever
Seven,
by
Antje
Heyn,
Alexander
Isert,

Germany

AB
OVO,
by
Oleksandr
Viken,
Stas
Marchenko,

Ukraine

Films
nominated
for
Next-Gen
Award
(Films
made
by
Students)

A
Dragon
in
name
only,

New
Zealand

And
the
boy
was
a
bird,

India

Bedtime
Guardian,

The
United
Kingdom

Cut
the
Tie,

Greece

I
am
Mutya
and
I
Thank
You!

The
Philippines

Until
the
bell
rings,

Colombia

The
Day
you
were
gone,

France

What
is
A.D.H.D,

China

Rebell,

India

Poland
is
the
country
of
honour,
whereas

Italy
is
the
country
of
focus
in
SIFFCY
2025.
A
curated
selection
of
some
of
the
finest
Polish
and
Italian
films
for
the
young
audience
is
going
to
be
presented
during
the
festival.

Jitendra
Mishra,
SIFFCY,
www.siffcy.org,
Festival
Director
says,

“We
have
carefully
selected
films
from
a
diverse
range
of
genres
and
countries
of
origin,
ensuring
that
each
one
offers
a
unique
narrative.
Most
of
the
feature
films
will
have
their
Indian
premiere
at
our
festival,
with
some
even
making
their
world
debut.
We
hope
our
efforts
will
not
only
showcase
the
best
of
global
cinema
but
also
inspire
young
audiences
to
think
critically,
broaden
their
horizons,
and
foster
a
deeper
appreciation
for
the
cultural,
social,
and
emotional
stories
that
shape
our
world.”

The
11th
edition
of
the
Smile
International
Film
Festival
for
Children
and
Youth
(SIFFCY)
will
feature
over
150
films,
that
include
feature
films,
animation,
short
films,
and
documentaries,
created
by
professional
filmmakers,
children,
and
students
from
more
than
40
countries.
The
participating
countries
include
the
USA,
Australia,
the
UK,
Germany,
Czech
Republic,
France,
Greece,
Belgium,
Bulgaria,
Croatia,
Chile,
Poland,
the
Netherlands,
Spain,
Italy,
Portugal,
Luxembourg,
Estonia,
Slovenia,
Sweden,
Malaysia,
Argentina,
Colombia,
Lithuania,
Brazil,
Iran,
China,
Russia,
Ukraine,
Nepal,
Romania,
Serbia,
Korea,
Singapore,
Canada,
Japan,
Bahrain,
Cuba,
and
India.

The
selected
films
will
be
showcased
in
five
distinct
sections,
viz.
International
Competition
(both
feature
and
short
films),
70MM
Smile
(World
Panorama),
The
Yellow
Carpet
(Indian
Showcase),
Next-Gen
(Films
made
by
film
students),
and
Take
One
(Films
made
by
children).

The
festival
organised
by
Smile
Foundation
will
also
host
prestigious
awards
such
as
the
ECFA
Award
(European
Children’s
Film
Association),
CIFEJ
Award
(formed
under
UNESCO),
and
the
Film
Critics
Circle
of
India
Award
(FCCI).

SIFFCY,
siffcy.org,
is
an
initiative
of
Smile
Foundation,

www.smilefoundationindia.org,
to
entertain,
engage,
educate
and
empower
young
minds.
It
is
based
on
a
strong
belief
that
good
cinema
represents
much
more
than
entertainment;
rather
this
is
the
most
powerful
medium
to
depict
the
reality
and
emulate
values.
Film
becomes
an
interesting
and
engaging
alternative
to
stimulate
discussion
among
young
people
about
vital
personal,
societal,
moral
and
world
issues.
Link:

siffcy.org.