Youth film festivals

Film festivals are everywhere and, like the rest of the media industry, many of them are geared towards adults:  they showcase films made by adults, for adult audiences. But with the growing youth media movement, more and more youth film festivals are arising. Although they all share the sme youth focus in theory, these programs can range in scope and goal, and even have varying definitions of ‘youth.’

Films highlighted in youth film festivals can include both youth-made films as well as films made by adults for children and youth. Some youth film festivals are smaller programs within or off shoots of larger mainstream film festivals.  The Cine Youth Festival, a project of the Chicago International Film Festival, showcases professional films for kids and also exposes its audience to new work by youth themselves.  The goal of many festivals like Cine Youth is to support young filmmakers in their professional goals and they often have a strong educational aspect linked to the local community.

Other festivals are projects of youth media centers that provide media literacy education and technical training. The Saint Petersburg International Youth Film Festival (founded by the Insight-In Art Center in Russia) and the Reel Youth Film Festival (a traveling program of Reel Youth media empowerment organization in Canada) are two examples of festivals that feature only youth-produced media. For the Saint Petersburg festival, youth means under the age of 29, while Reel Youth accepts films made by youth under the age of 19. 

The importance of providing a forum for youth perspectives, bringing quality films to youth audiences, and supporting young filmmakers is central to most youth film festivals. The international organization Kids For Kids conducts festivals in several locations around the world as a way to show films made by youth that inspire and make a positive impact on their lives.  Other festivals go beyond these goals to include in-depth programming that uses filmmaking as a direct form of media and community activism.  Organizations such as Lola Kenya Screen, Lahore International Children’s Film Festival and Jana International Youth Film Festival use their respective festivals as a springboard to work towards larger goals of democracy, media for social change, and understanding among youth across political and cultural boundaries. 

Lola Kenya Screen

At the core of Lola Kenya Screen’s philosophy is the belief that children are agents of change.  Media literacy and technology skills are as fundamental to children’s education as reading, writing, and arithmetic.  These skills are also crucial to the progression of literacy, gender equality, and self-expression all over the world.

It is with these beliefs that the Lola Kenya Screen was founded in 2005. Based in the capital city of Nairobi, it is Kenya’s first and only international film festival focused on children, putting the tools of media production into the hands of children and youth.  Lola approaches its goals with three main areas: a production workshop, film festival and audiovisual platform for the marketing, promotion and distribution of youth-made media. The film festival presents children’s films made by youth and adults from all over the world, including films created during Lola’s filmmaking workshops with kids.

For founding director Ogova Ondego, the work of Lola is a part of a movement consisting of people from all over the world who have one common goal: “We are united by a common vision that the mass media must create opportunities for children and youth to define their development holistically, and to promote the use of the mass media by young people. It is neither an event nor a destination, but a journey and a quest.”  

To learn more about Lola Kenya Screen, please visit http://www.lolakenyascreen.org.

Lahore International Children’s Film Festival

With a decidedly local focus, the Lahore International Children’s Film Festival (LICFF) in Pakistan began just over a year ago in 2008 as a project of the Ali Institute of Education (AIE). A teacher-education institute dedicated to the improvement of public education in Pakistan, AIE created the festival as an innovative way to engage students, teachers, school administrators, and parents in learning through film.

Only in its second year, the festival features local and international cinema both by and for children in Pakistan. By showing films from both international and local filmmakers, LICFF introduces the experience of watching films on the big screen to Pakistani youth audiences, bringing a diverse range of perspectives and expanding their global view of youth issues as an alternative to local television programming.  LICFF also conducts workshops for local youth, training them in filmmaking and showcasing their work in the festival.  They are also in the process of developing a mobile filmmaking workshop for children which will travel to various schools throughout the province.  Finally, the festival aims to nurture and inspire local filmmakers to create critical and challenging films for Pakistani children.  

The film festival has also developed a unit called Travelling Lahore International Children’s Film Festival. After the festival launches this year on 6-11 October in Lahore, LICFF will travel with the festival to six districts of the Punjab province under the UNICEF-supported Child Friendly School Project, showing films on the big screen to over 6,000 school children in Pakistan. 

To learn more about the festival, please visit http://lahorechildrenfilm.com/.

Jana International Youth Film Festival

The JANA International Film Festival for Youth & Children is organized every other year and is just one of many programs run by the JANA Arab Resource Center for the Popular Arts (ARCPA). Based in Beirut, Lebanon, ARCPA works to bring resources and tools for self-expression to communities that face marginalization as a way to build on its strengths while celebrating its experiences and resiliency.

One of ARCPA’s main focus is working with children and youth, helping youth become advocates for themselves and their community. Their programs include film-making among other arts such as photography, drama, creative writing, and performance art.

The film festival is an important component of these programs as it provides a forum for exchange around topics specific to the issues in their communities and supports youth as active voices. With the rise of intra- and inter-community intolerance and violence among youth, the theme of this year’s film festival is conflict transformation. Organized by young people in ARCPA’s programs, the touring festival specifically highlights films made by youth in the region and all over the world.

For more information on ARCPA and the Jana International Film Festival for Children and Youth, please visit: http://www.al-jana.org/thome.htm.  

A film festival for everyone

The wide range of youth film festivals across the globe provides both a local and international platform for youth voices.  The growing number of these festivals assures that there’s a place and audience for all youth-produced media.  For an extensive list of youth film festivals, please visit UNICEF’s International Children’s Day of Broadcasting blog at http://uniceficdb.wordpress.com/2009/08/03/a-youth-film-festival-for-everyone/.

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Links

Deadline extended to 30 August - Convention on the Rights of the Child Video Contest
UNICEF wants to see what you think about children’s rights! It’s the 20th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), the document which spells out the basic human rights that children everywhere have: the right to survival; to develop to the fullest; to protection from harmful influences, abuse and exploitation; and to participate fully in family, cultural and social life. Make a video showing what child rights mean to you, whether in the world at large, your country, your community or you personally. Videos must be one minute in length and will be judged by professionals and youth from around the world.  The winning video will be used in the CRC’s 20th anniversary celebration and made available for broadcast around the world for the 2010 International Children’s Day of Broadcasting. Deadline is 30 August 2009. For more information, visit www.unicef.org/voy/takeaction/takeaction_4439.html.

PLURAL+ video festival
Youth ages 9 to 25 are invited to submit short videos promoting harmony in diverse societies to the PLURAL+ video festival, to be held at the Paley Center for Media in New York City on December 18.  PLURAL+ is a video festival for youth-produced media aimed at building a more inclusive, tolerant society. The festival will address key issues in today's youth communities, such as migrant integration, inclusiveness, identity, diversity, human rights and social cohesiveness.  Deadline for submitting entries is 30 September 2009.  For more information, visit http://www.unaoc.org/content/view/346/257/lang,en.html.

“See the Bigger Picture” Photo Contest on Biodiversity
Youth around the world are invited to enter the “See the Bigger Picture” photography contest by submitting images illustrating plants, animals or anything else that captures biodiversity. The winner will receive an all-expenses-paid trip to National Geographic headquarters in Washington, D.C., and will meet with renowned photojournalist and contest judge Joel Sartore.  The contest is open to all kids around the world, although age limits differ by region.  Submit one colour image that you think captures the spirit or idea of biodiversity; your image should show people why biodiversity is a good thing that we should try to preserve. Entries must be received by 8 September 2009.  For more information visit: http://www.seethebiggerpicture.org/photo-contest-info.php. 

Videotivoli International Video Festival for Children and Young People
The international kids and youngsters film event, Videotivoli, takes place for the seventh time in the spring of 2010, 8-13 March, in Tampere. At the same time, the Nordic and Baltic Kids for Kids competition will be held for the third time.  The festival is looking for films less than 10 minutes long, made by people under 16 years of age. The subjects and styles of the films is open.  Videotivoli offers its young artists a chance to show their work. It’s also an opportunity to meet others, to talk and attend practical media education.  The deadline to submit films is 15 November 2009.   For further information send email to videotivoli@videotivoli.fi or visit http://www.videotivoli.fi/english09/index.htm. 

MEDEA Award for Creativity and Innovation – European Year of Creativity and Innovation
The MEDEA Award for Creativity and Innovation, set up to coincide with the European Year of Creativity and Innovation 2009 (EYCI), is an award for the creative and innovative use of media in education. MEDA invites applications from anyone who considers their use of media in education and training to be creative and/or innovative.  This includes in the classroom where media is used in different ways to enhance learning or in lifelong learning centres where trainers use media creatively to help learners explore new opportunities. It also includes groups of students who are working together on projects using media to explore and understand the world in a more creative way. Deadline for applications is 30 September 2009. For more information, please visit http://www.medea-awards.com/medea-award-for-creativity-and-innovation.

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