ALONE
Iran 2022, Jafar Najafi, 61 min.

Since Amir's father died a few years ago, the 14-year-old has been responsible for his younger sisters. Against the village's resistance, he tries to save the girls from being married off. The film shows how the global change of society does not stop at the rural areas of Iran.

DREAMING ARIZONA
Denmark/Estonia/Norway 2022, Jon Bang Carlsen, 76 min.

Only desert, highways and rails surround Winslow, a small town in Arizona. The students of the local high school want to escape the dreariness of their home with a play they wrote themselves. Director Jon Bang Carlson follows their rehearsals and captures the dreams and worries of the young people in images that, between fiction and reality, bring the mythical character of the place to life. 

FLEDGLINGS

Zosia, Oskar and Kinga go to boarding school to learn braille. Separated from their families, the children have to get to grips with their new situation by themselves. The three quite different characters become the most important people in each other’s lives. They laugh together and console each other. At eye level with the protagonists, the film shows how a deep bond develops. 

LE SPECTRE DE BOKO HARAM
France/Cameroon 2023, Cyrielle Raingou, 75 min.

School, donkey rides, doing homework, romping around in bed before sleeping. This is what a carefree childhood in the north of Cameroon could look like. But the brothers Ibrahim and Mohammed talk about the appearance of their late mother and the girl Falta has lost her father in a terrorist attack. The school is guarded by heavily armed soldiers. The threat of Boko Haram is omnipresent.

Winning film:

KRISTOS, THE LAST CHILD

10 year-old Kristos is the youngest of 30 inhabitants on the Greek island of Arki. As the only primary school child, he is at a crossroads: Should he carry on his studies at a boarding school or become a shepherd like his brothers? His teacher campaigns for him to continue his education. The film takes on Kristos’ perspective and plunges into his inner world. A moving insight that is visually radiant.