This year, 8th grade students from the Europaschule Storkow are the youth jury for FILM WITHOUT BORDERS and chose their winning films. The young people selected two films in a one-week workshop, which they will present as an independent jury at the festival in September.
In the workshop with filmmakers Anna Faroqhi and Haim Peretz, the young people watched a documentary or feature film every day for a week at the Schukurama Cinema in Beeskow, which addresses this year’s festival theme, CONFIDENCE. The focus was on youth and role images, racism, poverty and education.
At the end of the workshop, the pupils voted on which of this year’s competition films from Germany, the Netherlands, France, Greece and Iran would be shown in the school cinema programme of the FILM WITHOUT BORDERS festival. This task not only caused excitement but also pride among the participants: with their decision, they can help determine the programme for a festival.
After each screening, the films were discussed. In intensive conversations and in an alternation of discussion and contemplation in writing, the aim was to find out which film best interpreted the term CONFIDENCE for the young people. There was also discussion about the meaning of the word confidence, about the countries in which the films were set and about the formal language of film.
At the end of the week, the youth jury selected the following films:
NENEH SUPERSTAR (France 2022), directed by Ramzi Ben Sliman.
In the feature film, a twelve-year-old girl from a humble background is the only black girl to be accepted at the renowned ballet school of the Paris Opera and has to defend herself against arrogance and racism.
“Schools of the World” (Germany/France 2021), directed by Émilie Thérond.
The documentary follows three teachers who work where “normal” teaching is hardly possible. Svetlana teaches in a nomad tent under the snow cover of Siberia, Sandrine in a hut in the bush country of Burkina Faso and Taslima on a school boat in flooded areas of Bangladesh.
Photo: Faroqhi/Peretz
