DOCUMENTARY SECTION: THE QUESTION OF THE FUTURE IS ONE OF THE KEY ISSUES OF THE YOUNG GENERATION

The European Feature Documentaries section for young audiences up to 15 years of age regularly presents a real insight into the lives of young people in different parts of the world. It has been an integral part of the festival's official competition programme for six years and is an annual challenge for the festival program organizers. You can watch the trailer here.

 We present you seven documentaries with the unifying theme of THE FUTURE, although the original dramaturgical intention was in no way thematically bound. The theme of the future runs through the titles on different levels and with varying degrees of hope, but always with a current urgency for the lead actors. This is a natural reflection of the fact that the question of the future is one of the key issues of the young generation, and one that European documentary filmmakers feel the same way about.

The documentary, aptly titled Futura, presents an interesting portrait of the current young generation of Italy.  While it is full of fears and opposing views of what the future holds for them in their country, it is actually a comforting future compared to the prospects of teenagers in the war-torn Donbas.
The film We Will Not Fade Away proves that even severely tested Ukrainian children can recognize and experience the fragile beauty of life, while also dreaming of a normal future. 
A certain dose of hope for a better future is offered by Alis from a Colombian shelter for teenage girls. A pair of acclaimed directors convey a unique insight into the world of girls who will not give up even though life has truly treated them harshly, girls ready to break the cycle of violence and fight for a better future.
If You Are a Man is a riveting and fascinating documentary portrait of a 13-year-old boy finding optimism in the harshest environment of the gold mines of Burkina Faso. It is the story of the path to basic education, which is the key to a better future in one of the poorest countries in the world.
The future of sporting success is explored in Fearless; eleven-year-old Pierfrancesco is a rising star in kitesurfing.  If he is brave, patient and ambitious enough, he will have a successful future in this extraordinary and adrenaline-inducing sport.
The topic of sexual identity and related decisions that change the rest of your life, i.e., the future, is tackled in It's Always Been Me. An empathetic and timely documentary about two young people who do not feel themselves to be the people they were born as.
Finally, the theme of influencerism, which permeates the lives of today's children and adolescents. The sensitive and unobtrusive documentary One in a Million follows two teenage girls on different continents who are connected through screens. Can influencers inspire millions of other young people around the world to pursue their goals, believe in themselves, and thus influence their future?

List of films in competition The European Feature Documentaries section for young audiences up to 15 years of age:

Futura - Italy, 2021, Pietro Marcello, Francesco Munzi, Alice Rohrwacher

We Will Not Fade Away - France, Poland, Ukraine, 2023, Alisa Kovalenko

Alis - Chile, Colombia, Romania, 2022, Clare Weiskopf, Nicolas van Hemelryck

If You Are a Man - France, 2022, Simon Panay

Fearless - Italy, 2023, Luciano Toriello

It´s Always Been Me - Denmark, 2023, Julie Bezerra Madsen

One In A Million - Germany, 2022, Joya Thome