Participating in a festival of children’s and youth films is like caressing the soul. There are no conquests or fights, no extravagances which are often not even understood by their creators, no images full of blood and violence. It provides real stories which are superbly filmed, acted and animated, designed for different age categories. The festival also hosted a series of accompanying events, including discussions and meetings with creators and programmers of children’s films. The result was a packed house of spectators.
The International Film Festival Schlingel (which is a colloquial word for mischief) is held in Chemnitz, the former Karl Marx Stadt or Kamenice. The patron of the modern city seems to continue to be Marx, whose large bust is an attraction in the city center, not far from the festival site. A cinema in a shopping center was the festival’s main venue, but films were also shown in the beautiful art nouveau cinema Metropol, as well as Clubkino Siegmar, Carlowitz Congresscenter and Opernhaus Chemnitz. 181 films from 52 countries were screened, often introduced by their directors. There was also a sidebar of 13 world premieres from New Zealand.
The festival is supported by the Free State of Saxony, the city of Chemnitz and a number of sponsors. The festival’s prudent director, Michael Harbauer, and his team were everywhere to ensure the smooth running of the event. The size and importance of the festival were indicated by the presence of 14 juries and 21 prizes. Special attention was paid to the children’s evaluation teams: the European Children’s Jury, which was represented by children from Austria, Poland, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Hungary and Germany, the youth jury comprising young adults between 14 and 18, the youth Fair Play Jury composed of young people from the partner festivals Olympia in Greece and Ciné Jeune de l’Aisne in France, as well as young judges from Norway and South Korea, and of course, local young people.
Workshops for children and young followers of film were stimulating and well-attended, with excellent lecturers. One notable inclusion was the Club of Festivals, a group of representatives from international film festivals dedicated to children and youth. 33 representatives were hosted by the director of the domestic festival, and at their meetings, they not only shared their experiences but coordinated their activities. I had the opportunity to talk with many of them, and they are passionate personalities across different generations, which makes the meetings inspiring. Unfortunately, Slovakia did not have a representative in this Club, since the Bratislava Animation Biennale is currently underway (October 7-11, 2024). The Biennale dates back to 1985 and began as the Children’s Animation Show, on which I collaborated.
Our jury at Schlingel evaluated 15 films – all excellent, so that it was not easy to choose a winner. The films tackled various social issues and problems. Egil Pedersen’s My Father’s Daughter tells the story of a father who is released from prison and wants to return to his ex-wife and daughter. He discovers that his ex-wife lives with a new partner and his daughter is focused on friends and school, so there is no place for him. However, his daughter eventually gives him hope of a rapprochement with her.
In several films, children played major roles in winning battles with bureaucracy. In Block 5, by Slovenian director Klemen Dvornik, children protect their playground from developers and awaken their parents to the cause. The story of Phil Hawkins’ Robin and the Hoods is similar, with young heroes fighting for their space in the manner of Robin Hood. A very powerful story was told by the Russian author and director Vladimir Alenikov with the film The Rebels. A house which accommodates mentally and physically disabled older children catches the eye of developers, who want to demolish it and build a residential complex. The children decide to defend their home against the odds.
Mikhail Lukačevsky’s Where the White Cranes Dance, was the psychological story of a widower and father of four children in a remote village, showing not only love and family cohesion, but also the importance of basic social values. In other films, sports played an important role for young people, with ping-pong in Taiwan in Ping Pong Boys, directed by Po-Hao Hung, or with hip-hop dance in South Korea with Beom-Su Park’s Victory.
Thelma’s Perfect Birthday, a charming animation by Lithuanian director Reinis Kalnaellis, centered on the world of a little penguin girl, Thelma, living with her parents in a snowy world. This was a film about pure joy, honest confessions, and the beauty of our world. The Indian film Soaring Wings, an Indian film about a film, depicted the search for similar values in another context and culture, From Spain, director Olga Osorio brought the story of 13-year-old Oscar, who experiences the theory of relativity in practice.
We awarded the FIPRESCI Prize to the Canadian intergenerational film Blue Sky Jo by Patrice Sauvé. The film concerns 10-year-old Helene, her three sisters, her parents, and a new neighbor, Monsieur Roger, who is the most important person for the girl. Beautifully filmed in Quebec and driven by Juliette Bharuch’s extraordinary performance, this is a poignant coming-of-age story inspired by Hemingway which brings different generations together to deliver a message about the power that art and imagination have to change the world.
It is customary to write about the participation of our Slovak artists at the festival. The Slovakian contingent consisted mostly of co-producers – for instance, with the film Life to Eat directed by Kristína Dufková, which also received the Festival Club Award for the junior category and the award for feature-length animation. Its score was by the Slovak composer Michal Novinski, and design was by K. Dufková with Fero Lipták. Together with the Czech Republic and Germany, Slovakia also co-produced a film directed by Karel Janák, The Key of Saint Peter. Martin Smatana and Veronika Zacharová co-produced the animated short Hello Summer. Eva Matejovičová produced a 12-minute animation called About the Gluttony, produced by FAMU. Slovakian creatives also co-produced the films Tichá Pošta, directed by Ján Sebechlebský, and Mice Belong to Heaven by Denisa Grimmová and Jan Bubeníček.
Ladislav Volko
Edited by Lesley Chow
© FIPRESCI 2024
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in International Film Festival for Children and Young Audience