Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults

Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults

Established	8 January 1965
Founder	Farah Diba Leyli Amir Arjmand
Type	Cultural
Location	Tehran, Iran
Products	Book, short film, documentary, music, animation, puppet show, toy, computer training (software)
President/chairman	Mehdi Ali Akbarzadeh
Website	kpf.ir
Formerly called	Center for the Intellectual Development of Child and Adolescent

Center for the Intellectual Development of Child and Adolescent (CIDCA, Persian: کانون پرورش فکری کودک و نوجوان, Kānoon-e Parvaresh-e Fekri-e Koodakān va Nojavānān, better known as Kanoon or Kānoon) is an Iranian institution with a wide range of cultural and artistic activities in the field of mental and cultural development for children and young adults. The organization was at the center of the vanguard of cultural production in the late 60s and early 1970s and is the platform through which many of Iran's most regarded artists and filmmakers launched their careers.

History

Early years

Founded in 1965, Kanoon was originally one of the many cultural initiatives that fell under the broad purview of Farah Diba. Its initial ambitions were educational and social in nature; the program, led by one of Farah's close friends Lili Amir-Arjomand, involved building a network of both permanent and traveling libraries across the country in order to promote culture and literacy. During this period, Kanoon's publishing consisted only of translating and importing western classics such as Hans Christian Andersen. Eventually, Kanoon began producing and publishing its own books and soon after grew to be not just a social organization, but also a prolific producer of many kinds of materials for children.

At the center of this leg of the initiative was Firooz Shirvanloo, who acted as both co-director and as an informal Art Director for the organization. Through Shirvanloo, Kanoon attracted many of the famous names that are associated with the project today: Abbas Kiarostami, Farshid Mesghali, Noureddin Zarrinkelk, Amir Naderi, Morteza Momayez, Ali Akbar Sadeghi, , Parviz Kalantari, Ardavan Mofid, Hengameh Mofid, Kambiz Samimi Mofakham and more. Shirvanloo's strong political leanings also attracted an equally significant group of left-wing writers and researchers. (He was fired in 1972 for this very reason.)

Within the walls of Kanoon, there was an unprecedented amount of freedom and support provided to the artists involved. Under these circumstances, Kanoon became a quasi-utopian hub, or incubator or laboratory for an incredible group of artists, many of whom worked across several media (most of the central protagonists were designers and also illustrators and would experiment with animation or filmmaking if they chose to). It was crucial to have this type of venue available at this pivotal moment when Iran is transitioning into modernity in terms of its visual culture. The output of Kanoon during this era defined the aura of childhood in Iran for an entire generation. These were the books that everybody read, and the music that everyone heard and this legacy is still quite potent today.

Post-Revolution

Although no longer at the center of an artistic vanguard, Kanoon continues to operate as an important public institution to this day; continuing with its program of libraries, publishing, animation, and most significantly, film.

In 1999, Children of Heaven was nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film of Academy Awards (Oscar) and honored in many festivals globally.

Currently, Mehdi Ali Akbarzadeh is appointed as the General Director of Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults by order of the Minister of Education.

Partial filmography

Feature films

Year	Title	Director	Notes
1974	The Traveller	Abbas Kiarostami
1974	Entezar (Waiting)	Amir Naderi
1985	The Runner	Amir Naderi
1987	Kelid (The Key)	Ebrahim Forouzesh	Written by Abbas Kiarostami
1987	Where Is the Friend's Home?	Abbas Kiarostami
1989	Homework	Abbas Kiarostami
1989	Bashu, the Little Stranger	Bahram Beyzai
1992	And Life Goes On	Abbas Kiarostami
1998	Children of Heaven	Majid Majidi	Nominated for and Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film

Short films

Year	Title	Director	Notes
1969	Amoo Sibiloo (Uncle Moustache)	Bahram Beyzai
1970	Safar (the Journey)	Bahram Beyzai
1970	The Bread and Alley	Abbas Kiarostami
1972	Black and White	Sohrab Shahid-Saless
1972	Zang-e Tafrih	Abbas Kiarostami
1974	Harmonica	Amir Naderi
1974	Hassani	Shahpur Gharib
1975	Two Solutions for One Problem	Abbas Kiarostami
1975	So Can I	Abbas Kiarostami
1976	Rangha	Abbas Kiarostami

Animations

Year	Title	Director	Notes
1970	Mister Monster	Farshid Mesghali
1970	Misunderstanding	Farshid Mesghali
1971	The Boy, the Bird and the Musical Instrument	Farshid Mesghali
1971	Seven Cities	Ali Akbar Sadeghi
1972	The Grey City	Farshid Mesghali
1972	Flower Storm	Ali Akbar Sadeghi
1973	A Very Good Worm	Farshid Mesghali
1973	Boasting	Ali Akbar Sadeghi
1973	The Bird of Doom	Morteza Momayez
1974	Look Again	Farshid Mesghali
1974	Rook	Ali Akbar Sadeghi
1975	The Sun King	Ali Akbar Sadeghi
1975	Mad Mad World	Noureddin Zarrinkelk
1977	Amir Hamza the Lover and the Dancing Zebra	Noureddin Zarrinkelk

External links

• Official website
• More about IIDCYA