TEHRAN -- Iranian short film “Blue Bicycle,” directed by Siavash Saedpanah, has won two awards at the eighth Travelling Cinema Iraq Film Festival and secured official selections at three other international film festivals.
Produced by Saeed Nejati and the Eshraq Film Club, “Blue Bicycle” won Best Short Film at the 8th Travelling Cinema Iraq Film Festival, while actor Armin Azizi received an honorary diploma for Best Actor. The two awards were presented by the Arab Cinema Network (ACN).
The film had previously been nominated for Best Film and Best Actor at the same Iraqi festival.
“Blue Bicycle” has also been selected for the Palestine House London Film & Arts Festival and the International Film Festival of HIFA (IFFH). The latter is scheduled for Sept. 19-20, 2026, in Rohtak, Haryana, India.
The film has also been selected for the 6th Slemani International Film Festival in the Kurdish Short Film section. The festival, based in Sulaymaniyah in Iraq’s Kurdistan Region, is scheduled for Sept. 9-16 and is placing a particular focus in its sixth edition on Kurdish language and mother-tongue identity.
The Slemani selection has particular significance for “Blue Bicycle,” which was made in Kurdish and is closely connected in its story and setting to the culture, life and geography of the Hawraman region.
The film is a social drama about a teacher in Hawraman who, after losing his wife and child, gives his child’s bicycle to a student with special needs. When the bicycle is stolen, its passage from one person to another sets off a chain of human events.

Through themes of loss, loneliness, empathy and forgiveness, the film presents a human-centered story of life in Hawraman and seeks to introduce the region’s cultural and human dimensions to international audiences.
The Palestine House London Film & Arts Festival is holding its inaugural edition in London in 2026, while the International Film Festival of HIFA describes itself as a platform for independent filmmakers and emerging cinematic voices.
“Blue Bicycle” is written by Saedpanah, Vahid Ahmadi and Bahman Sharifi and is produced by Nejati for the Eshraq Film Club.