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BIGGEST CELEBRATION OF GOOD CINEMA
SIFFCY 2023

SIFFCY  2025

A SMILE FOUNDATION
INITIATIVE

We are honored to host the 11th edition of the annual SIFFCY Film Festival in partnership with the European Union (Delegation of the European Union in India) from 28 Jan to 03 Feb 2025. The festival will be organized in a hybrid format to accommodate both in-person and virtual audiences. Major events, including the opening and award ceremonies, will take place at the iconic Siri Fort Auditorium in New Delhi on January 28, 29, and 30, 2025.

In parallel, screenings and related activities will be held in various locations in collaboration with the local schools and communities partners across India. Additionally, a curated selection of the program will be streamed on the festival’s secure, geo-blocked virtual platform, reaching a broader audience throughout the week.

FOCUS ITALY:
With an objective to give tribute to extraordinary films from all times of a particular nation, SIFFCY hosts a special section focusing on a country every year. This year SIFFCY has been fortunate enough to curate the best of ITALIAN CINEMA in partnership with the Italian Cultural Center, New Delhi. We celebrate best of Italian cinema made for young audience. This is an honest effort to exchange our art, culture, tradition and values through cinema and strengthen the cultural relationship between our nations.

COUNTRY OF HONOUR: POLAND
This year we are proud to celebrate POLAND as the Country of Honor at SIFFCY 2025. We are happy to collaborate with the incredible Polish Institute, New Delhi to host Polish Day during the festival this year. There will be multiple Polish film screenings and various sessions in the program during the weeklong festival. This is an honest effort to exchange our art, tradition and values through cinema and strengthen the cultural relationship between our nations.

CELEBRATING GERMAN & FINNISH FILMS
We are proud to collaborate with our long-standing partner SCHLINGEL IFF, Germany again this year to bring handpicked German films for Indian audience. In addition, we have collaborated with The Embassy of Finland in India to curate films from Finland.

WATCH THIS SPACE FOR DETAILED SCHEDULE

BACKGROUND:
SIFFCY is a flagship initiative of India’s leading charity Smile Foundation to engage, educate and empower young minds through the power of Good Cinema and related capacity building workshops, interactive panels, masterclasses and related activities. Each year, the annual film festival attracts thousands of filmmakers, industry professionals and Cinephile from around the globe, with over 50,000 young spectators attending the week-long events. This year, we aim to reach a larger audience, with expectations of over one million virtual participants.

(You may find more information on www.smilefoundationindia.org | www.siffcy.org)

CIFEJ AWARD

ALEJANDRA
ALEJANDRA FRITIS ZAPATA / CHILE

Festival Director, Founder Ojo de Pescado 
Film and television producer and fillmmaker, dedicated to the production and realization of documentaries, mainly about music, intangible heritage, traditional culture, local history, education and childhood. Specialist in audiovisual content for and with children. Workshop facilitator of audiovisual training processes with children, young people, old people, women and diverse communities, with experiences implemented in different territorial contexts in Chile and in several countries in Latin America. Jury member and evaluator of audiovisual works and projects in Chile, Colombia, Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Spain, Canada, Germany and Japan. 
I am the founder and current Artistic Director of the International Film Festival for Children and Youth OJO DE PESCADO and of the International Seminar for Mediators of Audiovisual Content and Childhood LA INFANCIA QUIERE CINE, events that in 2024 were holding their thirteenth and fifth versions respectively. In 2024 I released the documentary television series MI ESCUELA RURAL (8 x 52) about rural schools in Chile, which was benefited by the National Television Council Fund and was exhibited on La Red TV.

Dhvani-Desai-photo
DHVANI DESAI / INDIA

Animation Filmmaker & Curator
Dhvani Desai Is a globally acclaimed international award winning animation filmmaker, curator & poet. With more than 33 years experience , her artistic films have won worldwide accolades. Invited as Jury/Grand Jury in several film festivals in India & abroad including 66th National Film Awards, Govt of India etc. Her work has been mentioned in World Encyclopedias & research journals of Animation. She curates animation programmes for Indian & International film festivals since more than a decade She has been on advisory board of Children’s Film Society India, Govt of India for producing meaningful cinema for children and youth for several years.

Adam
ADAM DVORAK / CZECH REPUBLIC

Filmmaker, Producer, Editor
He graduated from the Film and TV school of academy of Performing Arts in Prague in the year 1999. And has been the CEO of the post production studio AVID movie. He has also been the managing director of the film distribution company Bioscop, which is a part of AQS.
Over the years he has had a splendid career as a Producer and Editor for several acclaimed films.

HILDE
HILDE STEENSSENS / BELGIUM

Festival Director International Film Festival for Young Audiences FilemʼOn 
Hilde Steenssens is the founder and director of FilemʼOn, the International Film Festival for Young Audiences in Belgium. She also curates for other film initiatives and festivals for children in Belgium. As a pedagogue and youth criminologist, she is convinced of the power of art and film as an intermedium to support children and young people in their growth towards world citizens. She ensures that the FilemʼOn festival can remain dynamic, qualitative and sustainable.

Vassilis-C.-Karamitsanis-scaled-qlfra751qemg1wgm07e1z59bsyct12bmtserckbmtg
VASSILIS C. KARAMITSANIS / GREECE

President ANIMASYROS International Animation Festival,
President of CIFEJ – International Center of Films for Children & Young People.
Born in Athens, in 1976. After finishing school at the Athens College, he studied law at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (GR). Holding postgraduate degrees from the Universities of Rotterdam (NL), Hamburg (D) and Aix-Marseille III (F), he is an attorney-at-Law licensed by the Athens Bar since 2001. Since 2008 he is president of ANIMASYROS International Animation Festival and since 2015 president of ASIFA HELLAS – Hellenic Animation Association. In 2018 he received the title of the Knight in the Order of Letters & Arts of France, while during 2018-2019 he chaired the board of the Greek National Opera. Since 2022 he is president of CIFEJ – International Center of Films for. Children & Young People.