The first meeting of opportunities for cooperation between filmmakers of children’s and youth cinema and BRICS member countries was held at The Soft Technologies and Cultural Industries Park of the University of Science and Culture, with the focus on the BEFMA Association and with the presence of Habib Ilbeigi, CEO of Cinemashahr Institute, Mohammad Hossein Imani Khoshkho, President of The Soft Technologies and Cultural Industries Park, and a group of activists and filmmakers in the field of children and youth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to the public relations report of The Soft Technologies and Cultural Industries Park, Habib Ilbeigi, CEO of Cinemashahr Institute, referring to the capacities of cooperation with some BRICS member countries, said at the meeting: Over the past two years, despite the screening of children’s and youth films in cinemas within the country, a few have been able to be present in global distribution, and the rest of the productions were only released on platforms, television and cinema, and no further opportunities arose for them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He added: The memorandum of understanding signed between the Cinema Organization and The Soft Technologies and Cultural Industries Park has provided an opportunity for children and youth films to achieve global sales and presence on international platforms through cooperation with BRICS member countries, and even producers to think about joint production. Over the past few years, we have witnessed that film production in the field of children and youth is risky. Audience tastes also change rapidly and the return on investment has become uncertain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ilbigi also pointed out the willingness of BRICS member countries to cooperate internationally and stated: Iran’s membership in BRICS is a global opportunity that, with countries such as Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa and the willingness of the private cinema sector of these countries to cooperate with Iranian cinema, can be a positive international experience for us as well. Criticizing the festival-oriented approach in some films for children and adolescents, he said: “The policies adopted for producing films for children and adolescents should be data-oriented, not just taste-oriented.” If we make children and adolescents films with the feelings of adults or based solely on the memories of our generation and focus only on domestic consumption, we will simply lose the global audience. Unfortunately, some films that are made solely for festivals never get the color of a global release and the opportunity to appear on platforms, and this causes the bankruptcy of children and adolescents cinema.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
BRICS; A Golden Opportunity for the Field of Culture<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Senior Advisor of The Soft Technologies and Cultural Industries Park added: This will create widespread employment and increase traffic consumption. Iran is one of the countries that other BRICS member countries are interested in its culture and art, and in the last three years, the demand of the Russian market for receiving Iranian cultural content has clearly increased. Given the non-governmental nature of the park, many activities can be carried out quickly in it. This meeting has been prepared to introduce the opportunities and capacities available to the Iranian cinema body. The necessity of Iranian cinema to pay attention abroad<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Continuing the meeting, Mohammad Hossein Imani Khoshkho, the head of the National Park of Soft Sciences and Technologies and Cultural Industries, also referred to consumerist policies in cultural products and said: In our country, the cultural sector is a state sector and is completely consumerist. According to economists, the cultural sector in our country does not generate national income, but needs financial support. While in other countries, similar to the important sectors of agriculture and industry, the cultural sector can even generate significant income.
The president of the University of Science and Culture added: Currently, 140 companies are operating in the National Park of Soft Sciences and Technologies and Cultural Industries, and the average age of their board members is under 30 years old. The turnover of these companies is not confidential and each is required to provide us with reports. Last year, the turnover of these companies was close to 20 million.He also stated regarding the opportunities and capacities available in cooperation between BRICS member countries: There are no obstacles in the way of production and support in the cultural sector. If the BRICS issue is brought to fruition, its fruits and results will be tangible. The realization of this event requires the support and cooperation of the cinema organization. In addition, the facilitation that takes place in this direction does not involve filmmakers in cumbersome laws. In fact, BRICS is considered a golden opportunity in the field of culture.
He noted: Research has shown that in many fields we have a relative advantage over other countries, and in the field of culture, it can be said that this advantage is absolute; but unfortunately, the capacity of the field of art, especially cinema, has not yet been fully utilized.Regarding the cooperation formed between the Cinema Organization, Cinema City Institute, and the National Park of Soft Sciences, Technologies, and Cultural Industries, Imani Khoshkho stated: The relationship and cooperation formed between the National Park of Soft Sciences, Technologies, and Cultural Industries, the Cinema Organization, and the Cinema City Institute is unique. Because the goal of all three parties is only to progress the work. I hope that with the help of the Cinema City Institute, something positive will happen in this field.
BRICS member countries’ interest in Iranian culture and art<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mehdi Haj Mahmoud Attar, Senior Advisor to The Soft Technologies and Cultural Industries Park, also mentioned the 40 percent capacity of the BRICS member countries and said: In the last two weeks, two important events have occurred in the field of cinema and content production; Last year, the BEFMA Association was established in Russia and under the Zero Plus Festival. This market is related to 40% of the world’s population, including Russia, India, Iran, Indonesia, South Africa and Serbia in the BRICS member countries. The BEFMA in Iran is also the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, and according to the memorandum of understanding between the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance and the National Park of Cultural Industries, this complex has been introduced as the executive arm of creative industries in BEFMA. He stated: Iran acts as the executive platform of BEFMA, and the National Park of Soft Sciences and Technologies and Cultural Industries will share all content related to children and adolescents on this platform. The purpose of this meeting is also to introduce this platform to Iranian cinema activists, especially those in the field of children and adolescents’ cinema. The first official BEFMA meeting was held three months ago in Cairo, and this association is ready to attract content producers for cooperation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
BEFMA’s three revenue generating axes<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hossein Sheikholeslami, a member of the BEFMA Association, also said in this meeting, referring to the operational dimensions of joint cooperation between BRICS member countries: There are currently three projects that have the potential to be developed, and to advance them, we need the presence and participation of different sectors.Each country has a local secretariat; but the BEFMA technical department is located in Iran and in The Soft Technologies and Cultural Industries Park.
He added about the three axes of revenue generation in this cooperation: The revenue generation model of this platform includes three main axes: “Global Market and Advertising”, “Determining Subscription Fee” and “Financing and Investment Attraction” collectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He finally emphasized: These three axes have been accepted in the BRICS cultural sector and are centered in Iran. The BEFMA technical office was located in Russia, but now the technical office has been transferred to Iran and will probably be located on Palestine Street. The heart of all three platforms is in Iran, therefore the Cinemashahr Institute is responsible for developing and supporting screenings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Artists, filmmakers, producers and activists in the field of children’s and youth cinema also presented their views on the current situation and future of this cinema.
Hadi Esmaili, CEO of Bahman Sabz Cultural and Advertising Institute, said in this meeting about joint productions with BRICS member countries: “Achieving success in the international field is not easy, because existing restrictions such as copyright issues, sanctions and money transfer problems have made the conditions difficult. The most important goal in cooperation with BRICS member countries is to achieve joint production; that is, to create a fund that produces joint content.”
He added: “These countries include about 40 percent of the world’s population, and if this happens, it will be the most important step for children’s cinema. In addition, it is also attractive for producers to have several projects of this kind.”Production in Iran is much cheaper, and this creates an absolute advantage; in the sense that producers of real and animated films can work together at less than 10% of the cost of other countries. If Iranian cinema does not look abroad, it will be destroyed.
Changing tastes of children’s audiences around the world<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Eleh Tahaei, director of the Sourah Cinema Organization’s International Center, also mentioned the changing tastes of children’s audiences around the world and said: Among the destructive issues in children’s and adolescent cinema around the world are platforms like Netflix and Amazon, which, as a result of their productions, have changed children’s tastes, so that in other countries, children and adolescents are also interested in watching adult films. We see this trend even in our own families. Morteza Atash Zamzam, a director and producer of cinema and television, also considered the main problem of children’s and youth cinema to be the lack of compliance with copyright and admitted that until this issue is resolved in our country, it will not be possible to enter foreign markets. I have been active in the international arena and am willing to share my experiences.
Seyyed Javad Hashemi, a producer, actor and director, also said regarding the current economic conditions in children’s cinema: “In the current situation, the economic situation of cinema is not suitable and films are facing difficulties in returning the initial investment. But fortunately, we are witnessing the support of the government sector for animated cinema.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Seyyed Ali Mousavinejad, a producer and director of children’s cinema, also pointed out the uniqueness of the medium of children’s cinema and said: “Despite its simple appearance, children’s cinema is very complex.”Cinema is a unique and unique medium, and on the other hand, today’s children are very impatient; therefore, it is very difficult to convince them to watch movies. In the first step, today’s children must be recognized. Every individual, institution or organization that helps in this field is actually doing something positive and effective to keep children’s souls healthy.
Using cultural capacities in the international introduction of children’s cinema<\/strong>
Mehdi Jafari Jozani, animation producer and CEO of Mahva Group, also referred to using cultural capacities in the international introduction of children’s cinema and said: There is a very rich history and culture in Iranian society. In such a way that the volume of topics on various topics in the history of our country is as large as two-thirds of the countries in the world.If we can act with focus and planning, we can not only bring this cultural capacity into children’s cinema, but also have the ability to have an effective international presence. In the past two years, we at Mahva Group have participated in more than 30 world festivals, and these appearances were not just for the purpose of receiving awards, but we considered this opportunity to enter the markets of different countries through festivals. He continued: In this way, and especially from the screening of one of the animations in North America, we were able to cover the production costs of the next two animations in this series. Almost two months ago, at the same time as the Children’s Film Festival, the animation “The Legend of Sepehr” was among the 11 selected works of the Beijing Children’s Film Festival, and it was a wonderful experience to encounter a Chinese audience<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"