The 3rd Sobh International Media Festival accepting entries until February 5

The third edition of the Sobh International Media Festival – Iran’s prestigious international media event – is accepting entries worldwide until February 5, 2025.

The Sobh International Media Festival was launched in 2023 by the World Service of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), the state broadcaster of the Islamic Republic.

The annual media festival aims to facilitate connections between a heterogeneous group of international media practitioners and foster constructive interactions among them.

“The festival seeks to recognize and honor talented individuals involved in media activities, offering them the opportunities they deserve to further their artistic creation and innovation. Our goal is to build a strong and influential international media presence,” reads a statement by the festival organizers.

“We aim to expose artists to a diverse array of media through our educational initiatives, including workshops and seminars, thereby broadening their perspectives and encouraging independent thinking.”

The festival focuses on "Media and the New World Order," examining the importance of local and regional identities, spirituality, family values, and resistance discourse in the face of hegemonic powers.

Ehsan Kaveh, the deputy head of the IRIB World Service, will be the festival secretary this year.

While announcing the call for entries at a press conference in Tehran on November 30, Kaveh said the festival is focused on media with the least overlap with similar domestic events.

“In the second edition, we received over 3 thousand works from different countries, such as the United States, Ireland, Chile and Canada. From today until February, the time when the selection committee members will choose the works to participate in the festival, there is an opportunity to register your works," he said at the time.

Kaveh expressed hope for the third edition of the festival to be held in the first half of May 2025 as planned and for the closing ceremony to be on May 9, 2025.

This year’s edition of the Sobh International Media Festival will include two main segments: the general segment and a special segment dedicated to Palestine.

Here is the link to submit entries to this year's festival. 

Main Section:

• TV Series
• Talk Shows
• Magazine Shows
• Documentaries
• News Reports and Features
• Motion Graphics
• Articles: Feature, Viewpoint, Investigation
• Radio Programs and Podcasts
• Social Media Content: Videocasts, Animations, Short Films, Vlogs

Special Palestine Section:

• Feature Films
• Music Videos
• Short Films
• Short Animations
• Illustrations
• News Blogs

Awards

Main Section:

• Best TV Series: Festival Trophy, Plaque of Honor, and €5,000
• Best Documentary: Festival Trophy, Plaque of Honor, and €3,000
• Best Talk Show: Festival Trophy, Plaque of Honor, and €2,000
• Best Magazine Show: Festival Trophy, Plaque of Honor, and €2,000
• Best News Report: Festival Trophy, Plaque of Honor, and €1,000
• Best Motion Graphics: Festival Trophy, Plaque of Honor, and €1,000
• Best Radio Program and Podcast: €1,500

Online and Multimedia Section:

• Best Videocast: Festival Trophy, Plaque of Honor, and €1,000
• Best Animation: Festival Trophy, Plaque of Honor, and €1,000
• Best Short Film: Festival Trophy, Plaque of Honor, and €1,000
• Best Vlog: Festival Trophy, Plaque of Honor, and €1,000
• Best Article: Festival Trophy, Plaque of Honor, and €1,000

Special Palestine Section:

• Best Feature Film: Festival Trophy, Plaque of Honor, and €5,000
• Best Video Clip: Festival Trophy, Plaque of Honor, and €1,000
• Best Short Film: Festival Trophy, Plaque of Honor, and €1,000
• Best News Blogger: Festival Trophy, Plaque of Honor, and €1,000
• Best Short Animation: Festival Trophy, Plaque of Honor, and €1,000
• Best Illustration: Festival Trophy, Plaque of Honor, and €1,000

Market Section:

The Market Section will be introduced as a new addition in this round of the Sobh Festival, featuring participation from buyers and distributors of both domestic and international works.

Festival Rules:

• Television works in the Open Section must be submitted with English subtitles.
• For all sections, a final clean version of the work without subtitles must be submitted after selection for the competition.
• Producers or distributors are responsible for their works' participation in the festival.
• Works that have participated in other festivals or have been broadcast in media are still eligible for the Sobh Festival.
• The production date must be from early 2024.
• The festival committee reserves the right to use 3 to 5 minutes of selected works for promotional and informational purposes.
• A copy of the submitted works will be retained in the festival's repertoire for non-commercial use by the festival secretariat.
• If a prize is awarded to multiple individuals in a category, the cash prize will be divided among them.
• The format requirements for submitted works in each section are specified in the respective registration form.
• Submitted works must be free of watermarks and distributor logos.
• Works submitted in previous editions of the festival are not eligible for participation.
• Requests for entry with incomplete documentation or technical issues will not be considered.
• Registration and submission of all information must be conducted exclusively through the festival's online platform.
• The producer or distributor is responsible for addressing any claims related to material, moral, and citizen rights, and the festival assumes no liability in this regard.
• Responsibility for publicity, legal issues, and copyright based on the information provided in the form lies with the signatories of the form.
• According to festival regulations, if any provided documentation is found to be incorrect or if the attribution of the work is proven false, the work will be disqualified, and the applicant will bear all consequences.
• Completing and submitting the festival entry form constitutes acceptance of all festival terms and conditions.
• For this edition of the festival, there are no time restrictions for feature films in the Palestine section and series in the main section.
• In the Social Media section, the link and information for the social media post should be recorded.

Submission Deadline and Instructions:

• Television works must be produced in 4K, 2K, Full HD, HD, or SD resolution.
• Submissions should be in H264 or MP4 format with a bit rate of 6 to 8 megabits per second, at a resolution of 1080i or 1080p, or as SD files with a resolution of 576p for review.
• Selected television works must be submitted as data files in one of the following formats: MOV, MPEG2, MXF, AVI, or H264 (MP4). These can be sent via a link or delivered to the festival secretariat in person.
• Audio works should be submitted in WAV format.
• For the Articles Section, participants must submit their works in Microsoft Word documents or PDF formats.
• In the Social Media Section, providing a link to the published work is mandatory; submissions without a link will not be accepted.

Deadline for Registration and Submission:

• February 5, 2025

The Secretariat’s Address:

• No. 4, Shahid Heidarnia Street (East 2nd), Mohammad Ali Keshavarz Boulevard, Farhang Square, Tehran, Iran.

• Postal Code: 1997754746
• Phone: +98 21 23066166
• Website: www.sobhfestival.com
• Email: prog@sobhfestival.com

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.ir