"The Children of Heaven" as a Cultural Mirror: Reflecting Ethnic Narratives in Iranian Children's Film

Following the Iranian New Wave and the Islamic Revolution, Iranian filmmakers established a distinct tradition of children's film. Iranian films began to gain international recognition, being screened at prestigious film festivals and winning various awards. This article explores the emergence of children's film in Iran post-New Wave, examining its unique characteristics. It also delves into how Iranian children's films address ethnicity through themes, narratives, and filmtic language, using The Children of Heaven as a case study. The rise of Iranian children's film has highlighted a key observation: what is national can also be global. In the context of globalization and the dominance of Western aesthetics as the standard, Iranian filmmakers have successfully crafted films that preserve national identity while appealing to a broader audience. This approach offers valuable insights for contemporary Chinese film.