The Herd (2021)
Section: Competition of European Documentary Films for Young Audience
Directed by: Monika Kotecka, Karolina Poryzala
Poland, 2021, 80 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 6
Score:
Members of the Volteo amateur female equestrian vaulting club get a chance to join the Polish national team. They take on this overwhelming and costly challenge. Three girls of different ages will have to overcome their own weaknesses to achieve their joint goal. The tension grows from one training session to the next. Entering the professional level means higher demands and stress, and constant indulgence of the weak takes away the strength of the group. Will the girls, who call themselves "the herd", persist in the pursuit of their dreams? Will they sacrifice individual ambitions to become a professional team? A documentary about true friendship, team spirit, and how sometimes the path to success, even if it is bumpy, can turn out to be more valuable than the goal itself.
Olga (2021)
Section: International Competition of Feature Films in the Youth Category, Patron of Children Audience Award
Directed by: Elie Grappe
France, Switzerland, Ukraine, 2021, 86 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 3
Score:
2013. Olga, a talented and passionate 15-year-old Ukrainian gymnast, goes to Switzerland, where she tries to secure a place in the National Sports Centre. In Kiev, however, the Euromaidan suddenly breaks out, and her relatives are in the middle of it. As the young girl must adapt to a new country and prepare for the European Championships, the Ukrainian revolution enters her life and upends everything…
Ride the Wave (2021)
Section: Competition of European Documentary Films for Young Audience
Directed by: Martyn Robertson
United Kingdom, 2021, 84 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 4
Score:
Having participated in surfing competitions from the age of 11, 14-year-old Scottish champion Ben Larg is not afraid of a challenge. And what bigger challenge for a young surfer than one of the biggest and most dangerous cold water waves in the world at Mullaghmore, Ireland. If he gets it right, he joins an elite group. If he gets it wrong, the consequences are terrifying. Danger, opportunity, and parental dilemma collide propelling Ben and his family towards an unknown destiny.
Bigman (2022)
Section: International Competition of Feature Films in the Junior Category, Patron of Children Audience Award
Directed by: Camiel Schouwenaar
Netherlands, Germany, 2022, 90 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 2
Score:
Best friends Dylan and Youssef dream of becoming professional football players. When Dylan ends up in a wheelchair following an accident, he must come to terms with his new life. His dad – and former coach – wants him to accept his disability and keep football from his life, but Dylan is determined to play again. A story about true friendship and striving to win a final in the dying seconds of the game.
The Pack (2020)
Section: Top Teen Ten
Directed by: Tomáš Polenský
Czech Republic, Latvia, Slovak Republic, 2020, 94 min
Projection place: Castle SVOBODY
Score:
Ice skates cut the ice. Silhouettes of hockey players swirl in the spray of the frost, and sharp scratches remain on the ice behind them. Talented goalkeeper David (16) is joining a new team. He will do everything in his power to make a name for himself in the Wolves hockey team. But the position of the current goalkeeper Miky (16) seems unshakable. In addition, Miky is the son of a coach. David really doesn't fit in with the Wolves. Maybe it's the small plastic box that pumps insulin into his body. But David will not be defeated by diabetes. He is an outsider in the team and faces an avalanche of bullying. Those who do not attack also do no not help. David tries to fight, but the result is even worse. Pushes, injuries and humiliations pile on each other like the spiral scars of tracks engraved by ice skates. What will David do?
Olga (2021)
Section: International Competition of Feature Films in the Youth Category, Patron of Children Audience Award
Directed by: Elie Grappe
France, Switzerland, Ukraine, 2021, 86 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 6
Score:
2013. Olga, a talented and passionate 15-year-old Ukrainian gymnast, goes to Switzerland, where she tries to secure a place in the National Sports Centre. In Kiev, however, the Euromaidan suddenly breaks out, and her relatives are in the middle of it. As the young girl must adapt to a new country and prepare for the European Championships, the Ukrainian revolution enters her life and upends everything…
Bigman (2022)
Section: International Competition of Feature Films in the Junior Category, Patron of Children Audience Award
Directed by: Camiel Schouwenaar
Netherlands, Germany, 2022, 90 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 6
Score:
Best friends Dylan and Youssef dream of becoming professional football players. When Dylan ends up in a wheelchair following an accident, he must come to terms with his new life. His dad – and former coach – wants him to accept his disability and keep football from his life, but Dylan is determined to play again. A story about true friendship and striving to win a final in the dying seconds of the game.
The Pack (2020)
Section: Top Teen Ten
Directed by: Tomáš Polenský
Czech Republic, Latvia, Slovak Republic, 2020, 94 min
Projection place: Castle SVOBODY
Score:
Ice skates cut the ice. Silhouettes of hockey players swirl in the spray of the frost, and sharp scratches remain on the ice behind them. Talented goalkeeper David (16) is joining a new team. He will do everything in his power to make a name for himself in the Wolves hockey team. But the position of the current goalkeeper Miky (16) seems unshakable. In addition, Miky is the son of a coach. David really doesn't fit in with the Wolves. Maybe it's the small plastic box that pumps insulin into his body. But David will not be defeated by diabetes. He is an outsider in the team and faces an avalanche of bullying. Those who do not attack also do no not help. David tries to fight, but the result is even worse. Pushes, injuries and humiliations pile on each other like the spiral scars of tracks engraved by ice skates. What will David do?
Poppy (2020)
Section: Beyond the Childhood Horizon
Directed by: Linda Niccol
New Zealand, 2020, 98 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 3
Score:
Poppy Simpson is an irrepressible young woman with Down syndrome and an assumption she should get to do what everyone else does – have a job, drive a car, have sex, get married. Holding her back is Dave, her older brother and her only family since the death of their parents. Poppy and Dave work together in their inherited auto repair business. Dave doesn’t think she can get a driver’s licence. Quietly rebellious, Poppy secretly begins to teach herself to drive.
The Perfect David (2021)
Section: Beyond the Childhood Horizon
Directed by: Felipe Gomez Aparicio
Argentina, 2021, 78 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 6
Score:
At 16, David is much like any teenager, but his boyish good looks rest upon a hulking, muscular body. His weightlifting obsession is driven by his mother Juana, a troubled artist whose only goal is to have her son reach physical perfection by his 17th birthday. With countless hours spent at a grungy gym in the company of a motley clique of pumped-up gym rats, David desperately searches for what it means to be a man.
Bigman (2022)
Section: International Competition of Feature Films in the Junior Category, Patron of Children Audience Award
Directed by: Camiel Schouwenaar
Netherlands, Germany, 2022, 90 min
Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 6
Score:
Best friends Dylan and Youssef dream of becoming professional football players. When Dylan ends up in a wheelchair following an accident, he must come to terms with his new life. His dad – and former coach – wants him to accept his disability and keep football from his life, but Dylan is determined to play again. A story about true friendship and striving to win a final in the dying seconds of the game.
The Pack (2020)
Section: Top Teen Ten
Directed by: Tomáš Polenský
Czech Republic, Latvia, Slovak Republic, 2020, 94 min
Projection place: Castle SVOBODY
Score:
Ice skates cut the ice. Silhouettes of hockey players swirl in the spray of the frost, and sharp scratches remain on the ice behind them. Talented goalkeeper David (16) is joining a new team. He will do everything in his power to make a name for himself in the Wolves hockey team. But the position of the current goalkeeper Miky (16) seems unshakable. In addition, Miky is the son of a coach. David really doesn't fit in with the Wolves. Maybe it's the small plastic box that pumps insulin into his body. But David will not be defeated by diabetes. He is an outsider in the team and faces an avalanche of bullying. Those who do not attack also do no not help. David tries to fight, but the result is even worse. Pushes, injuries and humiliations pile on each other like the spiral scars of tracks engraved by ice skates. What will David do?