Documentary cinema making its way into children's hearts. This is what the organizers of the 14th Vilnius International Documentary Film Festival (VDFF) say, convinced that the generation of children who like documentaries has already grown up. Having successfully launched a special documentary program for children last year, the organizers of the festival will invite them this year to watch non-fictional stories about their peers. On the last two Saturdays of September (23rd and 30th), families with children are invited to "Skalvija" cinema center.
"We often hear from adults that documentaries are not interesting for children, but last year's screenings disprove this. It is really interesting for them to learn how their peers from other countries live and what difficulties they face. Children usually have no prejudice against documentaries or other types of cinema. When parents or teachers tell me that "our children will definitely not watch such films", I always suggest that they try", Goda Sosnovskienė, coordinator of educational programs of "Skalvija", shares her experience.
VDFF's children's program entitled "For Yourself and a Friend" consists of three short stories about friendship and the challenges it helps to overcome.
The first story is the promisingly titled Rock and Rollers (dir. Daan Bol, 2016). A hunch says that there will be no shortage of banging rock music, attempts to create it and concerts in the film. And she doesn't cheat. Vincas, Bas and Sia are like three musketeers, giving all their strength to music, even spending the night in the studio after long rehearsals. But their world full of dreams is disrupted by an illness - its main member, Sia, falls into depression. Looking straight into the camera, the guys talk candidly about the challenge facing their group. But there's nothing friendship and music can't overcome.
For director Daan Bol, "Rockenrollers" won the prize for the best documentary film for children at one of the largest documentary film festivals in Amsterdam (IDFA).
The heroine of another story is twelve-year-old Teja. The film is called "Teja" (dir. Halvor Nitteberg, 2016). The girl knows how to enjoy life and make others happy. Likes to play football. She still dreams of becoming a pilot. The story would be normal if not for the girl's diagnosis: Teja has a severe form of epilepsy. A black-and-white film assembled from suspended frames takes you to an epileptic camp. The girl talks about the things that make her happy the most, shares her dreams.
After the screening, the director of "Tejas" Halvoras Nittebergas and the producer Elisabeth Aspelin will meet with the children. They will tell the audience how Teja is successful in realizing her dreams, and will answer other questions.
The program will close with another film about friendship that overcomes all obstacles. "Scott + Julia" (dir. Annelies Kruk, 2016) is a story about a teenage couple. After a serious injury, fifteen-year-old Scott is told that he will no longer be able to walk. This does not prevent Scott from continuing to make plans for a joint future with his girlfriend Julia. When she is not around, Scott's everyday life is brightened by his new friend and helper dog Dexter.
"All films are very hopeful and bright. Maybe these are not the funniest stories in terms of themes, but they encourage us to believe that there is nothing friendship and love can't overcome," summarizes G. Sosnovskienė.
The festival program is intended for children aged 10-15. After the end of the festival, students of grades 5-9 will be able to order these films on the website of the educational project "I learn from cinema" www.mokausiiskino.lt specified contacts.
The festival will take place in Vilnius from September 21 to October 1. Klaipėda and in Ukmerge - October 6-8.
