The 9th edition of IndieJunior – Porto International Children’s and Youth Film Festival, promises to offer a positive, reflective, real and imaginary vision of life and humanity through its screenings and parallel activities.
The theme of this edition of the festival reflects on the community. We’re looking at the films selected for this edition (more than 50) and the current contexts in the world, such as migrations, wars, and aggressions against children in various parts of the globe, and through them, we’re going to create spaces to reflect on how we can see and be better and stronger as a community, debate how empathy develops, the spirit of collective construction, the positive gains that come from doing and discovering together. During these days, we’re going to experience community as well, and of course, as an ode to cinema!
Among the school screenings, we highlight the screenings programmed as part of the educational project Eu Programo um Festival de Cinema (supported by ICA, PNA, PNC, IPCA and EPCJC). Throughout the week, school spectators will be able to talk to and watch the films chosen by the young programmers from the four classes involved in this project: the students of the 3rd 17, from Agrupamento de Escolas da Maia – Maia, with the commitment of Professor Sónia Lopes; the students of the 6th F, from Agrupamento de Escolas da Maia – Maia. F students from Agrupamento de Escolas Soares dos Reis – Vila Nova de Gaia, with the support of teachers Manuela Neto, Fernanda Mendes and Maria José Alves; the 9th-6th students from Escola Secundária João Gonçalves Zarco – Matosinhos, with the support of teacher Ana Rita Fernandes; and the 11th-D students from Escola Secundária Filipa de Vilhena – Porto, with the support of teacher Ana Paula Oliveira. It was also an opportunity to see a significant number of Portuguese films and talk to the directors and crew.
Cinema at Maus Hábitos is taking place this year in collaboration with the Porto Femme Festival. We’ve prepared a session of short films that cover various dimensions of growing up and living in a feminine atmosphere.
It returns to the Novo Ático room at the Coliseu, the cutest Baby Cinema in the world, to bring together the community of parents with babies and young children, to see movies for the first time, in a cozy scenic space that is free to explore.
In the My First Film section, which is dedicated to showing movie classics, we invited the vice-rector of the University of Porto, Fátima Vieira, who has done incredible work for access to culture in the university student community. She chose The Wizard of Oz, by Victor Fleming. On February 1st, she will be with us to share her memories and the importance this movie had in her life as a little girl.
The other feature film is sure to please fans of Studio Ghibli – Ghost Cat Anzu, by Yoko Kuno and Nobuhiro Yamashita, was produced between France and Japan, and played at the last edition of the Cannes Film Festival. An animated film not to be missed, premiering at the festival.
As for the workshops, with proposals for families and schools, the Biodiversity Gallery of the University of Porto, the Soares dos Reis National Museum and Vila Maria Alice – Clinical Psychology and Therapies are essential partners. We start from the film Rules of the Game, for a debate on Identity, Rules and Conventions, with a panel of guests and the classes present at this Cultural Backpack organized with the PNA.
Also in the parallel activities, to promote Portuguese film projects for children and young people, there will be a Masterclass on the 7 Caixas Project (RTP series for children) at the Soares dos Reis Art School. There will also be a talk on Financing Films for Children, with the support of the Creative Europe Media Desk, and a Meeting on Films Made in Community, where three Portuguese film projects made in different contexts on national territory will be discussed.
In the Short Film Competition, the Community of Short Films I and II stand out, with films such as Percebes, Tudo Boas Pasta or Uma Guitarra à Deriva, which deal with issues close to the festival’s theme, such as locality, family and emigration.
These and other short films will be competing for three prizes: the IndieJunior Audience Award, which will be determined by the entire audience that attends the festival by voting in the sessions; the Impact Award, offered by the Rectory of the University of Porto and which aims to reward a film for its thematic importance, aesthetic care and creativity – to choose this film, a jury will be set up with members of the university and young secondary school students in a rich, intergenerational exchange; the APEI (Association of Early Childhood Education Professionals) award, which will be in its first year of existence in this edition, in an important partnership with the festival that will allow a film in the competition aimed at early childhood to be highlighted with greater attention.
To round off a full and varied weekend, on Sunday there will be the Cineconcerto – Comunidades, which will delight families with very diverse films that come together through the music and violin of Inês Lapa.We’ll end on the dance floor with the traditional dancing matinee with our resident DJ Miss Playmobil!
From January 27 to February 2, our annual meeting will take place at Batalha Centro de Cinema, Almeida Garrett Municipal Library, Coliseu Porto Ageas, Maus Hábitos and the Rectory of the University of Porto.Everyone is invited to another edition, to live in community!
