One of the most important features of the
sections of the Puyan Festival is the diversity and richness of its program. The Puyan Animation Festival is the product of five editions of continuous experience and effort at the University of Tehran’s Fine Arts Campus. This event, previously held under the name “Animation Week,” has been reborn this year in its fifth edition with a new identity, becoming the country’s first student animation festival.
In Azar 1404 (November/December 2025), the halls of the Fine Arts Campus will host screenings of works by animation students from across Iran. Selected films will be shown on the big screen, and awards will be presented to the winners at the end — an opportunity that offers young artists both a competitive arena and a platform for visibility.
Five Editions of Experience
Over its past five editions, the festival has built a dynamic platform for showcasing student work and hosting specialized discussions. Each year, students have had the opportunity to present their work in a professional setting and benefit from the experience of their peers and instructors. This year, with Animation Week transforming into the Puyan Festival, this path continues under a new identity, expanding its previous values with a national vision.
Student Film Screenings: One of the Puyan Festival’s Key Sections
One of the festival’s main sections is the screening of student work. Selected films from across the country are shown on the big screen and analyzed and evaluated in the presence of audiences and judges. This section offers an exceptional opportunity for visibility, a taste of healthy competition, and motivation to produce more creative work.
International Screenings: A Bridge to the World
The festival’s international section is one of its most engaging and popular parts. Here, selected animations from prestigious festivals around the world are screened and analyzed by instructors and students in review and discussion sessions. This section serves as a bridge between global experience and Iran’s student community, offering a chance to become familiar with the world’s current standards, storytelling approaches, and creative trends. For example, works selected for prestigious events such as the
Annecy International Animation Film Festival in France provide a model of the global standards of this art form.
Workshops and Specialized Sessions
In addition to the screenings, the Puyan Festival hosts workshops and specialized sessions. In these sessions, students can converse with instructors and professional artists, learn new techniques, and become familiar with the challenges and opportunities of the professional animation world. This section plays an important role in developing students’ skills and preparing them for their professional path.
The Skeleton That Became a Symbol
Every festival has a spirit that takes shape in its symbol. For the Puyan Festival, this spirit has come to life in the form of a smiling, bony figure. The story of the festival’s mascot began years ago, in a basement room of the Faculty of Visual Arts. An old skeleton, once used as a model for painting and sculpture students, found its way to the animation department’s basement after various relocations and having outlived its original purpose. Students breathed new life into it with their imagination and creativity. It climbed the stairs step by step, moving from darkness into the light, and today stands as the representative of a new generation: a bony body with a cylindrical head, an eternal smile etched upon it. To others, it may seem like a simple statue — but to us, it is everything: identity, memory, and a witness to the growth and passage of the students who have come of age within this great university.
Identity, Creativity, and the Future
The Puyan Festival’s mascot is a reminder that even the simplest objects, when viewed through the lens of creativity, can attain life and meaning and reflect the identity of a generation. Through this combination of experience, competition, international screenings, and specialized sessions, the Puyan Festival serves not only as a bridge for students’ growth but also creates a clear vision for the future of Iranian student animation. To learn more about the background and goals of this event, you can read the
About the Puyan Festival page.
Secretariat of the Puyan Student Animation Festival 
