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Sometimes, a simple smile can be the beginning of something in motion.
Puyan Festival began with one of those smiles—born from the passion and enthusiasm of animation students at the University of Tehran. Several years ago, it first took shape under the title “Animation Week”: a student-led event dedicated to watching films, exchanging ideas, gaining experience, and staying in motion.
That experience has now reached its fifth step, continuing on a broader scale as Iran’s first Student Short Animation Festival—a festival now presented under a new name.
In Persian, “Puyan” means one who moves steadily and continuously—a word deeply connected to the essence of animation itself: movement and life.
At the same time, “Pouyan” is derived from “Puyanamaei,” the Persian word for animation—a term that has given the art of animation a renewed identity in the Persian language.
Puyan Festival is organized by the Animation Student Scientific Association of the University of Tehran, with the support of the Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Tehran.
The festival has grown out of student experiences and continues to remain rooted in the same values: learning, collaboration, dialogue, and collective creation.
The festival’s Selection Committee is composed of outstanding students and graduates from various universities, selected for their experience in organizing events, producing successful works, or participating actively in student associations.
They serve as the first stage in the selection process—a generation that is simultaneously learning, evaluating, and shaping its own path toward the future.
The selected works will then be evaluated by prominent and influential figures in Iranian animation:
Amir-Mohammad Dehestani, Mahin Javaherian, Dr. Mohammad Fadavi, Hossein Molayemi, Babak Nekooei, and Farrokh Yekdaneh.
The presence of these distinguished artists and educators reinforces the festival’s artistic credibility while creating an opportunity to build stronger connections between the academic community and Iran’s professional animation industry.
The first edition of the Puyan Festival is held under the supervision of a Policy Council consisting of Babak Nekooei, Dr. Hadi Azari Oghandi, Farrokh Yekdaneh, and Mohammadreza Doost-Mohammadi.
In the executive and selection section, the members of the Selection Committee—Marzieh Dehghanipour, Fariba Abdolkhani, Paria Sinaeian, Mina Mahmoudi, Taktam Roshan, Fatemeh Mohammadi, Narges Farhadzad, Mohammad-Erfan Mohammad-Hassani, and Hossein Hedavand—are responsible for selecting the works submitted to the festival’s various sections.
Puyan is more than a festival; it is a collective experience of watching, learning, and smiling.
We believe that movement begins with these small smiles.
So, we enter with a smile.
