Youth Projects at the FILM WITHOUT BORDERS Festival

The youth projects of the FILM WITHOUT BORDERS Festival run throughout the year and offer a wide range of opportunities for young people from Brandenburg.

In line with this year’s festival theme, EVERYTHING HUMAN, empathy and social cohesion are at the heart of our youth work.

The films created in the youth projects have gained recognition far beyond the local area – and even beyond Europe – receiving awards at international film festivals.

Artists and filmmakers Anna Faroqhi and Haim Peretz, who lead the youth projects, are happy to be available for further conversation.

Youth Jury

The festival’s program is also shaped by a youth jury.
Over five days in July, 30 students from the 8th grade of the Europaschule Storkow met as jurors. In the Schukurama Beeskow cinema, they watched and discussed five films and selected two of them for the youth program.
The chosen films will be presented by the youth jury on Friday, September 12.
This screening is primarily aimed at school classes, but this year it is also open to other interested festival visitors.

A new format this year is “Fit fürs Schulkino” (“Fit for School Cinema”).
To strengthen the culture of discussion within the youth program, workshops and teaching materials are offered to help prepare students for the complex content of the selected films.

The selected feature films are:

• CHRISTY, directed by Brendan Canty (Ireland, 2025) – SCHULKINO 1

• SAMIA, directed by Yasemin Şamdereli, Deka Mohamed Osman (Italy, Germany, Belgium, Sweden, 2024) – SCHULKINO 2

CHRISTY tells the story of a 17-year-old trying to take control of his life despite difficult circumstances. He must decide who he wants to be and which people he wants in his life.
“The film is authentic and explores the question of whether people can be truly free.” – Youth Jury

SAMIA is set in war-torn Somalia and follows a young girl chasing her dream of becoming a runner despite great obstacles.
“The film shows that with hard work, perseverance, and love, we can achieve so much.” – Youth Jury member Yan Leon Harzmann

Film & Encounter Projects

Throughout the year, various creative film projects arise from the festival’s youth outreach efforts.
The current themes of empathy and social connection are at the core of these projects.

Buzzing Images

In a creative workshop, preschoolers from Groß Schauen immersed themselves in the world of bees — with visits to a beekeeper, shadow play, animated drawings, natural materials, and storytelling.
The result is the magical short film Buzzing Images (GER 2025, 9’43”), portraying the social life of bees and the joy of moving images.
The film will premiere on Thursday, September 11, 2025 at 8:15 PM as part of the festival’s opening program.

Little Memorials

Each year, confirmation students from the church in Bad Saarow clean the Stolpersteine (stumbling stones) in the town — commemorative plaques remembering Jewish residents persecuted during the Nazi era.
Together with Anna Faroqhi & Haim Peretz, a group of young people created a short film that brings some of these stories to life.
The film is currently being finalized and will be shown on Thursday, September 11, 2025 at 5:00 PM during the festival’s opening program.

 Youth Election

Just days before the German federal election in February 2025, the nationwide Junior Election was held with 2.2 million students participating.
Students at Europaschule Storkow also cast their votes, with student volunteers acting as election staff.
Filmmakers Anna Faroqhi & Haim Peretz documented the process and a classroom discussion about the results.
The resulting short film Youth Election (GER 2025, approx. 10 min.) is currently in post-production and is set to be screened on Friday, September 12, 2025 at 3:00 PM.

Stills in Motion

Monday afternoons are girls’ day at the Storkow Youth Club. Girls aged 9 to 16 – many with migrant and/or refugee backgrounds – find a safe space here.
Through a media and creative photography project, the girls are introduced to visual storytelling with a focus on the theme of movement.
The FILM WITHOUT BORDERS team works closely with youth workers from the club and will participate for the first time in Makerspace Storkow in September 2025 with a new project offer.
The girls will be invited to join, and the project is planned to continue from October 2025 onward.
Early results from the creative process will be presented in the Media Box during the festival.

Workshops & Continuity

Each project gives rise to new encounters and opportunities.
The youth films travel the world, receive international recognition, and contribute to ongoing conversations about media and political education.

In many short-term, partner-supported projects, the youth work team explores topics like media literacy and democratic participation with young people from the region and beyond.

Our goal is to encourage young people to use media responsibly and confidently, to critically engage with society, and to actively participate in shaping a vibrant democracy.