9th edition of IndieJunior Porto with record attendance!
The big winners of the 9th edition of IndieJunior Porto (IJP) are ‘A Menina com os Olhos Ocupados’, by André Carrilho (1st edition of the APEI Prize, awarded by the Association of Childhood Education Professionals, worth €250); ‘Lola e o Piano Barulhento’ by Augusto Zanovello (Impact Prize, awarded by the University of Porto, €1,000) and ‘Francisco Perdido’, by Frederico Mesquita won the Audience Prize worth €300. The IJP ended this Sunday, 2 February, with more than 8,500 spectators.
Over the course of a week, from 27 January to 2 February, the 9th edition of the IJP showcased more than 50 short films for children and young people in a festive atmosphere and shared knowledge in community (the central theme). This was the best edition ever with more than 8,500 spectators, including school and family audiences.
Of the national and international short films in the competition, ‘The Girl with the Busy Eyes’ won over the jury of the APEI Award (Association of Early Childhood Education Professionals), which was set up for the first time in this edition to reward a film for early childhood. André Carrilho’s short film stood out for its ‘pertinent and sensitive approach to the excessive use of mobile phones, a problem so present in today’s society’, also highlighting ‘the aesthetic and creative care, where the watercolour seems to take on a life of its own’, as well as the ‘harmonious fusion of image, sound and music that takes the viewer on an exciting journey of discovery’. The same jury also awarded an Honourable Mention to the short film ‘Mr Fragile’ by Emilia Miekisz, ‘for the originality and creativity with which it transforms everyday objects for children, such as building blocks, into narrative elements’.
The Impact Award offered by the University of Porto went to Augusto Zanovello’s film ‘Lola and the Noisy Piano’. The jury, made up of academics and young secondary school students, emphasised not only ‘the charm and tenderness of the story’, but also the ‘audacity of being able to propose a replicable and even scientific solution, which shows a feasible, humane and sensitive way of integrating into the community’. The Honourable Mention was awarded to ‘T-Zero’ by Vicente Niró, a short film about the problem of housing in the city’s historic centres.
The Audience Award is chosen by spectators throughout the festival and decided by voting on a ballot paper distributed at the end of the different sessions. This year’s winner was Frederico Mesquita’s fiction film ‘Francisco Perdido’, the story of a 12-year-old teenager, an unrequited love and a chance meeting that goes unexpectedly wrong.
This year IJP had 85 screenings and more than 50 films in the theatre. The next edition will be a special one, marking 10 years of IndieJunior in the city of Invicta. There will be many new features and many new discoveries. The 10th edition of IJP 2026 takes place the last week of January 2026.