Film programme 2023

Guard of Honour (2021)

Section: International Competition of Short Animations for Children (up to 12 years of age)

Directed by: Edmunds Jansons

Latvia, 2021, 5 min

Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 4

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A natural disaster interferes with the honor guard ritual. Only one of the guards, seemingly pointlessly, chooses to remain in his post.

To Be Sisters (2022)

Section: International Competition of Short Animations for Children (up to 12 years of age)

Directed by: Anne-Sophie Gousset, Clément Céard

France, 2022, 7 min

Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 4

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To be sisters is about sharing a special bond and laughing together. These sisters share an extra something a bit different, and that’s absolutely fine.

Balcony Cacophony (2022)

Section: International Competition of Short Animations for Children (up to 12 years of age)

Directed by: Quentin Haberham

Netherlands, 2022, 5 min

Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 4

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When a rich lady with a passion for topiary must swap her mansion with lush gardens for a tiny council flat, she finds it difficult to cope with her neighbour.

Ahru (2023)

Section: International Competition of Short Animations for Children (up to 12 years of age)

Directed by: Leandro Martínez

Argentina, 2023, 4 min

Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 4

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A story of a desert guardian named Ahru that can take on the form of many animals. Anyone brave enough to confront him will learn the secrets of his art.

Missing 10 Hours (2022)

Section: Brainz VR Cinema

Directed by: Fanni Fazakas

Hungary, 2022, 16 min

Projection place: Brainz VR Cinema

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Rape cases often involve more than just the perpetrator and the victim. Your decisions as a bystander will influence the course of an evening.

Thank You for Sharing Your World (2022)

Section: Brainz VR Cinema

Directed by: Yu Sakudo

Japan, 2022, 33 min

Projection place: Brainz VR Cinema

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Takashi lost his eyesight in grade school. He begins to lose interest in a world he can’t see, until he’s invited to an event which changes how he sees the world.

Sorella's Story (2021)

Section: Brainz VR Cinema

Directed by: Peter Hegedüs

Australia, Hungary, Sweden, 2021, 15 min

Projection place: Brainz VR Cinema

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We follow 10-year-old Sorella in 1941 on her final journey to a Baltic Sea beach where close to 4,000 Jewish people, mostly women and children, were murdered.

Rock Paper Scissors (2022)

Section: Brainz VR Cinema

Directed by: Alex Ruhl

United Kingdom, 2022, 7 min

Projection place: Brainz VR Cinema

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Single mum Lina and her daughter Priya have found a fair way to settle any debate, using the game Rock Paper Scissors. But life isn’t always like on the playground.

Reimagimed vol. 1: Nyssa (2022)

Section: Brainz VR Cinema

Directed by: Julie Cavaliere

United States of America, 2022, 15 min

Projection place: Brainz VR Cinema

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After losing her best friend/broom, a young witch must learn about fear and how to harness it in order to protect her village from the wrath of the evil Teemencaag.

Lou (2022)

Section: Brainz VR Cinema

Directed by: Martine Asselin, Annick Daigneault

Canada, 2022, 26 min

Projection place: Brainz VR Cinema

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Based on stories and experiences shared by autistic people and inspired by the children of both directors. Witness firsthand a few days of his life.

Luna: Left Behind (2022)

Section: Brainz VR Cinema

Directed by: Charuvit Wannissorn

Thailand, 2022, 30 min

Projection place: Brainz VR Cinema

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An interactive VR story about an android and a little girl trying to survive an AI apocalypse. Can you, a droid with no combat capabilities, protect Luna?

Kristine Is Not Well (2021)

Section: Brainz VR Cinema

Directed by: Seeyam Quine

Netherlands, United States of America, 2021, 18 min

Projection place: Brainz VR Cinema

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A VR social media simulation that highlights the resistance of online activists against algorithmic surveillance and censorship.

Fresh Memories: the Look (2023)

Section: Brainz VR Cinema

Directed by: Volodymyr Kolbasa, Ondřej Moravec

Czech Republic, Ukraine, 2023, 10 min

Projection place: Brainz VR Cinema

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The war in Ukraine has destroyed thousands of households and lives. Look into the eyes of those who lost their homes or places closely connected with them.

Darkening (2022)

Section: Brainz VR Cinema

Directed by: Ondřej Moravec

Czech Republic, Germany, 2022, 25 min

Projection place: Brainz VR Cinema

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How does a person with depression perceive the world? This film provides a deep insight into the "dark night of the soul", as well as hope.

Close (2022)

Section: Festival Laurels from around the World

Directed by: Lukas Dhont

Belgium, Netherlands, France, 2022, 105 min

Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 5

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Léo and Rémi are close. They have boyhood adventures, share the world and almost every moment together. But they're reaching an age when things start to have names. What do they have, friendship or love? School starts after the holidays and thus start the nosy questions and ironic remarks of their classmates. As childhood ends, adulthood intrudes inexorably into the two friends' previously carefree world.

Brainz VR Cinema (2023)

Section: Brainz VR Cinema

International, 2023, 234 min

Projection place: Brainz VR Cinema

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Arnold is a Model Student (2022)

Section: Beyond the Childhood Horizon

Directed by: Sorayos Prapapan

Thailand, Singapore, France, Netherlands, Philippines, 2022, 85 min

Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 6

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Arnold is a clever student who has won many academic awards. One day, he meets Bee who runs an underground business helping students cheat on their exams. Bee asks Arnold to join his cheating ring and offers him a lot of money. While Arnold considers working with Bee, many of his schoolmates, unhappy with their school’s disrespect of their freedom, organize a big protest.

Eduard Štorch, the Mammoth Hunter (2023)

Section: Special Mention

Directed by: Josef Císařovský

Czech Republic, 2023, 52 min

Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 2

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Eduard Štorch (1878–1956) was the first Czech writer and one of the first in the world to set his stories in prehistory. It's quite ironic that he himself considered his books set in the Stone Age and Bronze Age to be mere accessories to his calling in life as a professional teacher. His new concepts for educating a new generation and of teaching history were completely groundbreaking. He made his idea of a healthy and natural lifestyle a reality on the island of Libeň in Prague, where he built his Children's Farm and taught children how to live and cooperate with nature.

Comedy Queen (2022)

Section: Top Teen Ten

Directed by: Sanna Lenken

Sweden, 2022, 94 min

Projection place: Zámek

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The story of 13-year-old Sasha, who, despite her immense sorrow, refuses to mourn her dead mother. She secretly writes a list of everything she must do to survive: shave her hair, stop reading books, say no to the world's cutest puppy and, above all, become a stand-up comedian to make everyone laugh, especially her father, who secretly cries in the shower when he thinks no one can hear him.

Roi (2022)

Section: International Competition of Feature Films in the Children’s Category (up to 10 years of age)

Directed by: Rane Tiukkanen

Finland, 2022, 84 min

Projection place: Golden Apple Cinema 3

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Valo, a schoolgirl, recently moved with her father to a new town, where she feels lonely because she has not yet made friends with the local kids. But everything changes when she rescues an abandoned German Shepherd, who she befriends and names Roi. A thrilling adventure begins after someone kidnaps a neighbor's little boy. Valo, Roi and their new friends embark on a great crime story. Will they be able to find the kidnapper and save their little friend? This great family film with a real criminal plot was based on the book by the famous Finnish author Jorm Kurvinen, who first published books in the 1970s, which were then also made into a popular TV series. An exciting and moving story about friendship, courage and the desire to help others, it won the award for the best children's film at the International Film Festival for Children and Youth in Oulu, Finland.