An international online festival of audiovisual works made by the young generation, aged 6 to 20, from around the world. It takes place from February 8th to March 12th 2023 on the platform www.afilmteensfest.com. We had a tremendous experience with the online version in the year 2021, so that is the reason why we want to continue also on this platform. We believe that in that way, the movies can be spread all around the world more easily and thus make films more approachable. The project started in December 2019 in the Světozor art cinema in Prague as Teenfilmfest.cz, and in 2020 continued with screenings for schools.
The works will be screened in the following categories according to genre and the age of the creators:
Twenty basic prizes will be awarded: in each of the 5 main categories 4 prizes will be given, according to the age of the creators. The most interesting works will receive the following 8 awards: the Ben Barenholtz Award, the Vojtěch Jasný Award, Best International Film, Best Czech Out-of-school Film, Best Czech School Film and three Audience Awards (one of them will be the prize of a non-professional jury composed of 12- to 16-year-olds). If necessary, there will be seven additional honorable mentions. The winners will receive graphically-processed diplomas and prizes in kind from festival sponsors. The awarded films will be assessed by a jury of Czech and international professionals, and its members will be announced in time.
Deadlines of applications in 2022 and in 2023 are:
Early Bird 1st of April 2022
Early deadline 1st of June 2022
Regular deadline 1st of July 2022
Late deadline 15th of September 2022
(Extended) late deadline 1st of November 2022
Very late deadline 1st of December 2022
Film fans from all over the world can apply. Films from abroad and the Czech Republic will compete together. The following topics have priority for us: Love (in various forms), Family and relationships, Nature and climate changes, Cyberworld, Christian values, themes against bullying, violence, discrimination, racism etc. Works with other subjects can be accepted as well - but videos supporting addictive substances and any type of violence, racism, nudity and other inappropriate themes will be excluded. The year of production of the work is not important.
The selection and awards of films will be decided by an international jury of professionals from the world of film and media (in 2019, the jury was composed of famous personalities, such as the documentary filmmaker Vít Klusák, the writer Emil Hakl, the screenwriter and director Olga Dabrowská and other representatives of the youngest artistic generation in the Czech Republic). In 2021 the jurors included a well known Czech celebrities - young popular actor Marek Lambora, an acclaimed actress Nela Boudová, a television journalist Jan Tuna, and other seven important personalities from Czech film world. For the year 2022 we aim to acquire an international jury that will be announced here on our website.
The total number of films will be announced at the end of August. They will be available online in approximately 40 - 45 min. sections. The sections of the audiovisual works will be drawn up according to the spectators' ages: 1) up to 8 years, 2) 9 - 11 years, 3) 12 - 14 years, 4) 15 - 17 years, 5) 18 - 20 years. If the proposal of films will allow it, we will form the sections for each of these age groups related to their topics. The films will have optional Czech and English subtitles.
The festival program will be complemented by workshops, talk shows and a Q&A - and they will be mediated to international artists via an online transmission. The Q&A events, always with the main creators of the three to five films whose work will be thematically and age-related, will be announced in advance. The examples of planned workshops are: "Don't be afraid and start" (for youngest beginners), "Media literacy and discernment of information" (for teenagers) and "Professional Youtuber" (for youth aged 18 - 20). Possible topics of talk shows: 1) Abuse of youth on the Internet, 2) Presentation of the 5 most successful incoming artists from all over the world aged 12 to 17, 3) distributional use of the works made by children and youth (festivals, etc.).
The festival opening will be online and the award ceremony will take place in person in the Prague cinema „Pilotů".
The festival program, access to the film sections and other information will be gradually published on www.afilmteensfest.com.
