Short film Makan, written and directed by Mohammad-Hossein Abbasi, has won the Special Minab Award at the 38th International Film Festival for Children and Youth. The award was introduced at this year’s festival in memory of the children of Shajareh Teybeh School in Minab, a city in southern Iran.

The film tells the story of seven-year-old Makan Nasiri, a student at Shajareh Teybeh School, who was martyred in the attack on the school on February 28, 2026. He was among the 168 children victims in the attack.

The Special Minab Award was established as part of this year’s festival to honor the memory of the children martyred at the school and to highlight the impact of war on children.

Makan was jointly produced by Soureh Film Club and the Nahzat Arts and Media Center, with Hamed Yaminpour serving as producer. Soureh Film Club is a film-production and talent-development unit within the Art Bureau (Hozeh Honari), a major Iranian cultural and artistic organization. The Nehzat Arts and Media Center is active in producing artistic and media content and operates under Iran’s Islamic Propaganda Organization.

Following the award ceremony, Mohammad-Hossein Abbasi, the film’s writer and director, paid tribute to the children in Minab and said: “As a filmmaker, I believe the least we can do in the face of the sacrifice and suffering of the children martyred in Minab is to keep their memory alive.”

“I am therefore honored to dedicate this award to the grieving families of the children martyred in Minab,” he added.