Earlier in November, the Institute for Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults (IIDCYA), as the main organizers of the festival, announced that the event would be running from February 28 to March 4.
“Due to the not particularly positive experience of organizing film festivals online around the world, and the IIDCYA’s great respect for the copyrights of movies and the high standards of screenings, we will refrain from organizing a virtual festival, and will try to hold the festival during the next [Iranian] year,” the organizers said in a press release on Saturday.
They said that they have received over 1,600 movies from 85 countries, including Japan, China, France, Austria, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Italy, and Brazil.
Iran has canceled or postponed several of its major annual cultural events over the past year in an attempt to stem the spread of coronavirus.
In addition, the organizers of some cultural festivals also chose to hold their events online.
The Fajr International Film Festival, Iran’s major film event, canceled the 38th edition, which was scheduled to be held in April.
However, amid the growing concern over the virus during March, the organizers postponed it to a later time in June.
In addition, the 14th edition of Cinéma Vérité, Iran’s major international festival for documentary films, was held totally online, and the international section was non-competitive this year due to the pandemic.
Moreover, the Tehran International Book Fair was canceled in May. In November, Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Seyyed Abbas Salehi said that the book fair would be held in December. However, the organization will no longer be able to organize the event, at least not in the remaining three months before the end of the Iranian year.
Source: Tehran Times