SIFFCY 2025
A SMILE FOUNDATION
INITIATIVE
The 11th edition of the annual SIFFCY Film Festival was hosted in partnership with the European Union (Delegation of the European Union in India), with Poland as the Country of Honor, and Italy as the Country of Focus. We had the fortune of also screening specially curated films in partnership with Embassy of Finland, and our long standing collaboration with Germany. The festival was organized in a hybrid format to accommodate both in-person and virtual audiences. Major events, including the opening and award ceremonies, took place at the iconic Siri Fort Auditorium in New Delhi on January 28, 29, and 30, 2025.
In parallel, screenings and related activities were held in various locations in collaboration with the local schools and communities partners across India. Additionally, a curated selection of the program were 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. The 11th edition of SIFFCY curated 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
We are proud to celebrate POLAND as the Country of Honor for SIFFCY 2025. And we hope that our collaboration with the incredible Polish Institute, New Delhi to host Polish Day during the festival continues in our upcoming editions as well. This year we screened multiple Polish films and organised programmes which involved a variety of sessions 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 aimed to reach a larger audience, with over one million virtual participants.
(You may find more information on www.smilefoundationindia.org | www.siffcy.org)
ECFA AWARD
Head of the film commission/Director of the KINOLUB International Film Festival for Children and Youth
Marta Kraus – in the years 2010-2014 the director of the Children’s Film Festival in Krakow, from 2014 r. the director of the International Film Festival for Children and Youth KINOLUB. The author and producer of national audio-visual education programme for teachers and tutors. She has many years of experience in project management and consulting in the audio-visual, educational and social development sectors. Since 2016 in charge of the Podkarpackie Film Commission and Podkarpackie Regional Film Fund, responsible for the international promotion of the region’s film potential and the establishment and growth of local creative industry.
Festival Director MICE , Valencia
Josep Arbiol is the founder and President of the International Festival Union for Children, Youth and Teachers MICE (Mostra Internacional de Cinema Educatiu), which includes among others screening places in Valencia and Madrid (Spain), Havana (Cuba) and Western Sahara. Furthermore, Josep Arbiol is also Festival Director of MICE Valencia and furthermore programmer for MICE Valencia, Madrid and Cuba. Born in Estivella (Valencia) and educated at the University of Valencia, the teacher and director has a long audiovisual career in media and has mentored in educational films with children. He is also the president of the Cultural Association “Jordi el Mussol” in Valencia.
Festival Director SCHLiNGEL IFF
The club shows that there is a very lively and well-functioning network of children’s film festivals around the globe. In smaller and larger (online) meetings, the members will discuss the film program of SCHLiNGEL and, at the end, they will award a special film in each of the three SCHLiNGEL age categories (children’s, junior and youth film).