AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): The 26th International Storytelling Festival, dedicated to supporting the oppressed children and teenagers of Gaza and Lebanon, will be held by the Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults, in February 2025 in the city of Yazd under the slogan, “The Secret of Stories is the Music of Life.”
The objectives of this year’s Storytelling Festival are as follows:
- Developing the storytelling quantitatively and qualitatively;
- Comprehensive attention to the educational and cultural needs of the target audience;
- Recognition and appreciation of all artistic forms of storytelling, focusing on solo narration;
- Strengthening connections with international storytellers and related cultural institutions outside Iran;
- Utilizing national media to promote and explain storytelling;
- Expanding the scientific section of the Storytelling Festival;
- Implementing the idea of promoting storytelling through the festival framework.
International Storytellers
Alongside the National Storytelling Festival, the Festival will also be held at the international level. In this section, storytellers aged 17 and above, distinguished at the regional level, will compete with storytellers from around the world.
The International Section features the following categories:
- Modern and Innovative Storytelling
- Traditional and Classical Storytelling
- Religious Storytelling
- Scientific Storytelling
- Storytelling of Progress and Heroes of Iran
- Storytelling of Sacrifice and Resistance (focused on the Resistance Front, including the struggles of the people of Palestine and Lebanon)
Participant Requirements for the International Section
- Storytellers aged 17 and above who have been selected at the regional level in categories such as Modern and Innovative Storytelling, Traditional and Classical Storytelling, Religious Storytelling, Scientific Storytelling, Storytelling of Progress and Heroes of Iran, and Storytelling of Sacrifice and Resistance will compete in the final stage against international storytellers.
- Non-Iranian storytellers who have passed the preliminary evaluation in the mentioned categories are also invited to compete in the final stage of the festival.
Audience of the Stories
Stories are intended for young children, children, teenagers, and adults.
Competition Stages
- Registration and submission of the works via email at dabirkhaneh.gheseh@gmail.com;
- A review and evaluation committee will assess the works of the non-Iranian storytellers;
- Announcement of regional finalists among non-Iranian participants for the final competition;
- The final competition at the festival’s closing ceremony.
Video Submission Guidelines
- Videos should be between 5 and 15 minutes in duration.
- All videos must be recorded in a horizontal frame.
- The submitted video must be of the highest quality, uploaded to Google Drive, and the link sent to the email address of the Storytelling Development and Promotion Secretariat at dabirkhaneh.gheseh@gmail.com.
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