One, two, three… Coming, ready or not!
It wasn’t easy, but we found them! Seven excellent films for the youngest, those slightly older, as well as teenage viewers. Among the titles selected for the Kids&Youth Fest, there are two feature-length animated films, a fiction film, and excellent European documentaries.
The night sky terrifies Tim. That’s why the boy decided to befriend the stars. Unfortunately, one of them suddenly disappears. The Little Bear has lost all his honey, which he urgently needs to prepare a delicious cake. Will he find the coveted golden treat and his beloved star? The youngest viewers of the Kids&Youth section are going to find out. Their slightly older peers will get the opportunity to meet Jack, who is trying to figure out his role as big brother to the extraordinary Gio. Teenagers look for less obvious things. For them, we have two documentary screenings in store, in which young people try to find themselves, their identity, and ideas for the future. In turn, families can look forward to a surprise in the form of a special Retro-cartoon show for the youngest attendees, organised together with the National Film Archive – Audiovisual Institute.
“This year we decided to take young viewers on a search. Fortunately, there’s something for everyone to find during Kids&Youth Fest. There will be animated films for the youngest viewers, an award-winning European feature film, as well as documentaries for older teenagers. To our delight, the latter are becoming increasingly popular among both young viewers as well as directors and producers.” – comments Magdalena Walo, curator of the children‘s section of the Krakow Film Festival.
One
A Polish production simply had to appear in the program. The youngest viewers can look forward to a screening of the cinema hit Hug Me. The Honey Seekers (directed by Anna Błaszczyk) on Children’s Day. A tragedy has happened in the forest. The entire supply of honey has disappeared. Without this delicious, sticky treat, it’s impossible to bake a dream birthday cake. Little Bear decides that he and Dad will set off to the Golden Land in search of the irreplaceable golden ingredient. Their expedition will turn into an amazing adventure.
This year’s festival program includes the Focus on Spain section, hence the presence of Víctor Maldonado and Adria Garcia’s animated Nocturna during Kids&Youth Fest. There’s an old orphanage in the titular Nocturna. A little boy lives there. Tim is very afraid of the dark. At night, the light of the stars protects him. One day, Tim notices that his favorite star has disappeared. What makes matters worse, other nocturnal companions begin to disappear. The boy decides to investigate.
Two
Slightly older viewers will get to see the European Film Award-winning feature film My Brother Chases Dinosaurs (dir. Stefano Cipani). Gio joins Jack and his sisters. The boy’s birth turns the family’s life upside down, especially since the baby has Down syndrome. Initially, Jack is delighted with his brother’s uniqueness. He perceives him as a superhero, but over time his attitude towards the younger sibling begins to change.
Although it is an Italian production, one of the main roles is played by the extremely characteristic star of Spanish cinema, Rossy de Palma.
Three
For the second time, the teenage audience can expect excellent European documentaries, presented under the international banner DOCS4TEENS – Building Bridges thanks to the cooperation between the Krakow Film Festival, Italy’s Festival Dei Popoli and the French FIPADOC. The idea is to promote European documentary cinema among young viewers, as well as to support the international distribution of the most interesting film productions intended for young people.
The protagonists of the feature-length documentary One In a Million (dir. Joya Thome) are
American girl Whitney and Yara from Germany. The teenagers are separated by an ocean, yet connected by the Internet and a love for gymnastics. The former seems to have a ready plan for life, pursuing her sports career and balancing it with her social media presence, general popularity and singing, while the latter is a fan of hers and, above all, an ordinary teenager searching for her own path. The director shows the girls in various situations, during training, while recording YouTube videos, or in their free time when they meet with friends, letting us get to know and understand them better.
A passion for sports is also present in the life of Mali, the protagonist of the short documentary Bgirl Badli (dir. Charlotte De Cort). Dance is everything to her. At just 14, she leaves her family home and moves to a larger city to live with her older sister and be closer to a coveted school. There, the girl has to grow up in almost an instant. Shopping, laundry, cleaning, performances at tournaments, preceded by many hours of training during and after school. Mali is ready to sacrifice a lot, but her body does not always want to follow the dreams of the maturing teenager.
Eva from Imperial (dir. Coline Confort) knows this all too well. A spectacular, breathtaking spectacle of great tradition and prestige. The protagonist would like to become part of it, but she can’t. The girl is passionate about history; her big dream is to take part in an impressive historical reconstruction: the march of Napoleon’s troops. Unfortunately, as a woman, she cannot join the army of reenactors. Eva is not discouraged by the two-hundred-year tradition and decides to outsmart the regulations. In a double costume – one involving history and identity – she goes into battle.
The set of three short documentaries also includes the film Oasis directed by Justine Martin. This is Raphaël and Rémí’s last carefree summer. So far, the boys have been inseparable. As twins, they spent every moment together – at home, at school, in their free time. Despite the differences, they get along great, but they know that everything is going to change soon. In between having fun with friends, playing football, riding a scooter, or sunbathing, one of them has to make an extremely important decision. Most likely he will leave, abandoning his brother, who due to his disability will have to stay in his home area.
Coming, ready or not!
Kids&Youth Fest is a section aimed at organised school and preschool groups. Admission to each screening is free, but requires prior reservation, which can be made by writing to: [email protected]. The number of seats is limited
PROGRAM FOR ORGANISED GROUPS:
- 29.05 – Short film set, documentary, 13+
- 30.05 – Nocturna, dir. Víctor Maldonado, Adrià Garcia, animation, 7+
- 31.05 – My Brother Chases Dinosaurs, dir. Stefano Cipani, fiction film, 10+
- 1.06 – Hug Me. The Honey Seekers, dir. Anna Błaszczyk, animation, 5+
- 2.06 – One In a Million, dir. Joya Thome , documentary, 13+
Screenings will be held in the Mikro cinema (ul. Juliusza Lea 5) at 9:00 a.m
SPECIAL SCREENING FOR FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN
- 3.06: Retro-cartoons for the youngest, animation, 5+The
Retro-cartoon screenings for the youngest will be accompanied by a lecture by Ms. Dobromiła Wrońska from the National Film Archive – Audiovisual Institute. The first screening will be held at the Mikro cinema at 11:00 a.m., and the second at the Sfinks cinema (ul. osiedle Górali 5) at 2:30 p.m. Admission is free and does not require a prior reservation.
After the screening, we invite you to the Nowa Huta Museum (Osiedle Centrum E 1) for special events accompanying the exhibition Children’s Fun and Games in Communist Poland.
The detailed program of the Festival will be announced mid-May on www.krakowfilmfestival.pl.
The Krakow Film Festival is on the exclusive list of qualifying events for the Oscars® in the categories of short film (live action, animated, documentary) and documentary feature, as well as a recommending event for the European Film Awards in the same categories.
The Krakow Film Festival is organised with the financial support of the European Union as part of the “Creative Europe” program, the City of Kraków, the Polish Film Institute, the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, and the Lesser Poland Province. The co-organiser is the Polish Filmmakers Association, and the main organiser is the Krakow Film Foundation.
The 63rd Krakow Film Festival will be held in Kraków’s cinemas from 28 May to 4 June and across Poland at the KFF VOD online streaming platform between 2 and 18 June.
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