The Youth and Heritage Film Festival

Filmsko gledališče Idrija, 28.–29th of November 2024

The town of Idrija is known for its 500-year mining tradition and its rich technical and natural heritage, which is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. In addition to mining, Idrija also prides itself on lace making and culinary specialties.

We understand heritage as an important component of the identity of the city and its people, so we want to further expand this awareness. The goal of the festival is thus to encourage young people to take a creative cinematic view of cultural heritage, especially technical heritage. In this way, we want to preserve it and involve it as actively as possible in the functioning of the community, especially in the views of young people. The purpose of the festival is to ensure that the heritage is not just a remnant, but rather an incentive for the creativity of young people in the artistic field and also in life. Submitted films should therefore actively include elements of heritage, which can be tangible or intangible, but preferably from the creators’ home environment. Heritage items should be an integral part of the narrative or they should motivate the story itself (heritage should not only serve as a scenography or place of action). Genres of submitted films can be: animated, feature or documentary.

The festival thus enables children and youth to present and learn about diverse cultural heritage and to become aware of its importance for their identity and future.

The goal of the festival is to attract as many young creators as possible, so the festival also accepts films with other themes. Films must be suitable for young viewers in the age categories up to 14 years or 15-19 years.

The festival also accepts high-quality films by authors who are over 19 years old. These films must be suitable for young audiences and will be shown in a companion (non-competition) programme.

The Youth and Heritage Film Festival

Winners of the Youth and Heritage Film Festival 2023

Category up to 14 years:

The word is not a horse, authors: Ana Štular, Neža Štular, Sabina Nadine Bogoev, Ema Hostar, Bine Praček, Eva Julija Rozman, mentors: Andreja Goetz, Andrej Štular, Petra Stare, Katja Stare, Lute Production / KUD Nebo, Elephant Society, Slovenia, 2019

Category 15-19 years:

The Speech of Txai Surui, authors: students of the multimedia project of Escola Parque, Rio de Janeiro (15-16 years old), mentors: Alexandre Juruena and Lilian Sodré, Brazil, 2022

Special mention:

Welcome to Čakovec, authors: Group of children, 10-14 years old, mentor Radostina Neykova and Stanislav Novak, produced by ŠAF Čakovec, Croatia, 2022

A local history story, authors: Saoirse O Hanlon, 12 years (director), children of St. Joseph’s NS Ballyheigue, Ireland, 2022

Jury reasoning

This year, for the first time, the Youth and Heritage Film Festival opened its doors to the world of oral and, on the other hand, well-documented history, as experienced by children and young people. In the enviable number of applicants, in sparkling and playful short films about what once was and how it develops on the foundations of the past, the jury recognized in some of them a well-crafted film language and narrative excellence.

In the category for elementary school students, the animation The word is not a horse produced by Lauta / KUD Nebo and the Elephant Society was the most convincing, taking the viewer through the essence of Slovenian proverbs. In a humorous and highly illustrative and vivid way, the animation succeeds in making the viewer really feel the heart of the meaning of the words, which are now also supported by well-designed images. Now we also know what proverbs should look like, although until now we only knew them as words.

Among the high school films, the animation The Speech of Txai Surui produced by Escola Parque from Rio de Janeiro impressed the jury the most. This witness not only to the heritage of an individual nation or a geographically defined part of the world, but with the story of the original inhabitants of the Brazilian jungle reminds us of the importance of heritage, which at the same time touches the fate of the entire planet. The strong message note is complemented by skillfully animated plasticine dolls, which, despite the fact that they are, ironically, actually made of plastic, act quite organically in their form. The jury was thus convinced by the combination of technically demanding animation and an idea that goes beyond just local heritage and at the same time draws attention to the world through it.

The jury received a special mention for the films Welcome to Čakovec for their humorous journey through images of the city of Čakovec, in which the city streets are filled with fantasy scenes. The young Irish creators of the film A local history story showed an interesting legend from the history of the village in an authentic way and using an effective approach in a short film.
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Filmsko gledališče Idrija, 16.-17. November 2023

1. The festival includes two thematic sections: cultural heritage and free theme.

The purpose of the festival is to encourage young people to take a creative, cinematic view of cultural heritage, especially technical heritage. Submitted films should actively include elements of heritage, which can be tangible or intangible, preferably from the creators’ home environment. Heritage items should be an integral part of the narrative or they should motivate the story itself (heritage should not only serve as a scenography or place of action). The genres of submitted films can be: animated, feature or documentary.

The goal of the festival is to attract as many young creators as possible, so the festival also accepts films with other themes. Films must be suitable for young viewers in the age categories up to 14 years or 15-19 years.

The festival also accepts high-quality films by authors who are over 19 years old. These films must be suitable for young audiences and will be shown in a companion (non-competition) programme.

2. Young film and video creators from the Republic of Slovenia and abroad can participate. Individuals and groups can participate.

3. The competition program announcement includes two categories:

– Children’s films: the authors are or were up to 14 years old in the year of the film’s production.

– Youth films: the authors are or were between 15 and 19 years old when the film was produced.

The presentation of the film must contain the age of the authors.

Films must be submitted through FilmFreeway.

4. The number of registered video products of an individual or group is limited to three.

5. The length of the film works is limited to 15 minutes (including the opening and closing credits).

6. The format of the movie should be MP4.

7. The film must be produced after January 1, 2020.

8. Films that are not in Slovenian must have English subtitles in a separate file – srt format. If the film is selected, the applicant must send the film without embedded subtitles and a separate file with English subtitles in srt format to the organizer.

9. The applicant guarantees that the registered audiovisual work is entirely his author’s work, that he has obtained the consent of parents or legal representatives and that the works only use copyright-authorized music and film or photographic images. The organizer is not responsible for possible violations of copyright, performance rights or any other rights of third parties in connection with the registered audiovisual works.

10. The festival organizer undertakes to protect the collected personal data in accordance with the Personal Data Protection Act. Entrants of works agree that the organizer will use the provided personal data for the purposes of the implementation and promotion of the festival: indication of the authorship of the works, indication of the names of the award recipients (individuals and groups).

11. Awards will be given for both age categories and thematic areas (cultural heritage and free theme) separately, namely for: best film, best story, best inclusion of cultural heritage. A special award is given to a film with the theme of industrial heritage or cultures. The jury is appointed by the festival organizer. The jury can also award special mentions or decides not to award any of the prizes.

12. The organizer may change the conditions of participation for various reasons. The changes will be announced on the website of the festival and on the Facebook page of the Birštat Cultural and Artistic Association.

13. Copies of all registered films remain in the archive of the organizer. Festival participants allow the use of their original works for the promotion of future performances of the festival. Festival participants allow the screening of their selected films at events organized by the festival organizer and for educational purposes.

14. The selection of films will be announced on November 10, 2024. Awards will be presented on the day of the festival on November 28, 2024. Award-winning and selected films will also be available for viewing on the organizer’s website from December 1, 2024.

The organizers of the competition are very happy to have received a very high-quality short documentary film, Handmade (Roka ga je naredila), created by the students of Veno Pilon Secondary School from Ajdovščina: Tristan Semenič, Tinkara Lavrenčič, Naja Vrčon, Patricija Černigoj, Nika Rojc,  Lia Bajec,  Tajda Filipič,  Ema Gregorčič,  Anej Remec.

The mentors were Urška Kompara Žvokelj, prof. and dr. Melita Lemut Bajec, and the external expert associate is dr. Jasna Fakin Bajec .

We congratulate the creators and mentors for a perfectly shot short documentary film. They managed to preserve an interesting part of the local cultural heritage, the memory of the former bakery plant, which is classified today as industrial heritage. The documentary film bears witness to people, their profession and work, all of which is worth and necessary to preserve for the next generations of young people as part of their local identity mosaic.

Dušan Moravec, screenwriter and director, in his review of the film:

The short documentary Handmade is a story about the people who once prepared and baked bread in Ajdovščina. Bread that was appreciated and well received not only in the local environment, but also elsewhere. The creators of the film set themselves a very interesting topic since nowadays the manual skills and knowledge we once had are neglected. The structure of the film itself is well laid out, and all the interesting topics discussed by the interlocutors are also highlighted. The interlocutors are the right ones, as they have charisma that convinces the viewer. The film is also important because such short pearls from the history of our lives are extremely useful for our descendants, who, it seems, will live in a completely different time.

In any case, the short documentary film Handmade is a beautiful product, of which the creators can be proud. I suggest that they look for various hidden and lesser-known people and events in their surroundings and make such films about them.

Hand Made (Roka ga je naredila)
https://video.arnes.si/embed/gddvjn59z8qr

The story of Parna pekarna Ajdovščina (Ajdovščina Steam Bakery) grew through long nights full of physical effort, which strengthened the still unhardened shoulders of the then apprentices and future masters. It is also a story of camaraderie, warmth and respect for bread as a fundamental commodity of our civilization and a reflection of community well-being. It questions our current values, the awareness of the local and points out the pitfalls of globalization. The bakers of Parne pekarne Ajdovščina from the 60s and 70s of the 20th century reminisce about the time when the intoxicating buckwheat loaf was still made by hand.

The film is available for viewing at the link above.

Two short films by pupils of Idrija Primary School on the topic of cultural heritage.

Glimpses of Idrija’s history:

https://video.arnes.si/embed/xl9hq6trdfn0

Let’s go to school!:

https://video.arnes.si/embed/khUQgXdVgeVi

1. Films should be submitted via FilmFreeway  

2. You can also send the film online by adding a completed application form to the sent film (e.g. via WeTransfer). If you upload a film to Vimeo, Google Drive, Dropbox or YouTube, you must enter a web link on the application form. Send the application form by e-mail to: info@mid.si

– If you are applying with several films, you must fill in your application form for each one.

– Incomplete application forms will not be accepted.

– The organizer may also request additional information or explanations.

– The jury will eliminate all technically inadequate films.

– By completing the application form, applicants confirm the veracity of the information on the application form and agree to the terms of the competition.

Submissions are accepted until November 2, 2023.

For all information, write to: info@mid.si

The Festival is organized by:

Cultural and arts association Birštat

https://www.facebook.com/KudBirstat/

Primary school Idrija

https://www.osnovna-sola-idrija.si/

Mestna knjižnica in čitalnica Idrija

https://www.idr.sik.si/

Filmsko gledališče Idrija

https://www.kinoidrija.org/