The third edition of the "Salam International Youth Film Festival" has wrapped up, Azernews reports.

The festival was held under the auspices of Narimanfilm Film Company, with the support of the Azerbaijan Culture Ministry and PASHA Holding as the general sponsor.

The festival's opening ceremony featured speeches by Art Director of the Festival Leyla Dostalizade, Francesco Bancini (Director of the European Azerbaijan School hosting this year's festival), Gadir Khalilov (Executive Director of the Youth Fund of the Republic of Azerbaijan and Festival Partner), Rovena Martinez Tuzcuoglu (Founder of the Universal Kids Film Festival in Istanbul, USA). Following the last remarks from Nurit Greenger, President of the Azerbaijan Cultural Foundation, the festival was officially declared open by Nariman Mammadov (Founder of "Salam" IYFF).

About 600 teenagers from 13 countries participated in the festival as jurors. Over the course of four days, they viewed films from different countries that had won prizes at international festivals over the past two years.

The teenagers voted to determine the winners. They also attended master classes and participated in the "Backstage documentary" workshop led by Iro Riga (Greece), president of Aenaon SCE and coordinator of "Zizanio News" at the Olympia Festival. As 2024 is a year of "Solidarity for a Green World", this year's Cinemarathon workshop featuring mentors Gurban Bunyadov, Eldar Ismayilov, Orkhan Agazade, Leylakhanim Ganbarova, and Mehdi Abidov who guided participants in creating short videos on the theme of "Ecology and Environmental Protection." Additionally, after a screening of director Ilgar Najaf's 2005 feature film "Buta" in the festival’s "Retrospective" program, children had the opportunity to meet the film's actors: People's Artist of the Republic of Azerbaijan Rafiq Azimov, Honored Artist Elnur Karimov, and actress Arzu Azimova, and asked them questions.

Throughout the third edition of "Salam" IYFF, participants discussed the films, met with directors and actors, took part in excursions and entertainment programs, attended interactive workshops, and screened short films during the Cinemarathon, leaving a positive impression. At the closing ceremony, Art Director Leyla Dostalizade expressed gratitude to sponsors, volunteers, guests, and Cinemarathon mentors. Nargiz Bagirzade, who is the Program Director, announced the winners selected by the youth jury, and Nariman Mammadov presented awards. The feature film "Listen" (Greece, 2022, dir. Maria Douza) received the "Best Feature Film" award, while "Alfons Jitterbit - class trip chaos!" (Germany, 2022, dir. Mark Schlichter) was honored with the "Special Jury Award." The "Retrospective" feature film "Birds of Passage" (Belgium, France, 2015, dir. Oliver Ringer) received the "Special Festival Award" established by the organizers of "Salam" IYFF.

Salam IYFF aims to foster friendly relations among Azerbaijani teenagers and their peers from other countries, promote cultural exchange, educate youth in universal moral values, and cultivate artistic appreciation through the screening of high-quality feature films at the festival.

Media partners of the event are Azernews.Az, Trend.Az, Day.Az, and Milli.Az.