EducaTIFF, a film education programme organised by TIFF
EducaTIFF reached its 12th edition this year
Corina Sabău, 26.09.2020, 13:00
EducaTIFF, the first film education programme launched by the Transylvania International Film Festival (TIFF) and devoted to children in Romania, has reached its 12th edition.
The programme was initiated in 2009, in an effort to raise young audiences interest in the art of cinema, and during its 12 years of existence EducaTIFF translated as over 120 films addressing youth, 3,000 participants every year, 50 cinema-related workshops and activities and 50 schools involved in the project.
This year, EducaTIFF was held during the Transylvania International Film Festival period and was co-ordinated by Raluca Bugnar, who was for the 3rd time tasked with selecting films that spark debates and bring children and teenagers closer to current themes.
Raluca Bugnar: “I think it was a good selection, the films in question were chosen not only because it is my personal aim to select movies that are not idyllic, but also because there are hardly any idyllic films out there any longer. Because these days, even childrens films reflect all sorts of pieces of reality, all sorts of problems and conflict, so we are far from a perfect or idyllic world. As a rule, few childrens films get produced, because any film is expensive to make, and it is hard to make a profit from films addressing children and teenagers. For example, this year Ive seen 40 films, of which I selected 7. Three of them address teenagers, aged 14 and over, three of them were for younger children and one of them was sort of in the middle, covering the transition from childhood to teenage. We were very glad to have adults attending as well. Usually teachers would accompany their classes, but this year, a lot of parents and grandparents brought their children to these films, which means there were many grownups in the audience. I am always happy to see adults relate to the stories told on the screen, and to see them realise how important it is to be able to use a film as an instrument to start a dialogue on sensitive issues. Perhaps you cant ask your child whether they are bullied at school or whether they are aggressors, but after you watch a film together on this topic, you can relate to the characters and begin a discussion.
We asked Raluca Bugnar, the programmer of the EducaTIFF project, to recommend a few films, especially since some of them may be watched on the Tiff Unlimited online platform.
Raluca Bugnar: “We are hoping to post some of them on Tiff Unlimited, including films screened in previous years, we are now working to get the online rights. As for this years selection, we started with a British film which is somehow Bollywood-like, because one of the characters has Indian roots. It is called Eaten by lions (directed by Jason Wingard) and is the story of 2 brothers who are very different from each other. It is a film that helps us accept the less than pleasant things about our families, and the fact that it is ok not to be similar with our relatives, even if we are part of the same family. Diva of Finland (by Maria Veijalainen) was the second film recommended for teenagers, a film on the role of social media, with the plot built around a television talent show. The characters compete for the title of Diva of Finland and they need votes on youtube, and I think this is something very common in our teenagers lives. Weve also screened The Club of Ugly Children (by Jonathan Elbers), a Dutch film that I adored, it was my favourite this year. It is a SF dystopia, an action film that explains to children what a totalitarian system is and why a democracy, as imperfect as it may be, is a much better option. Another film in our programme was Young Juliette (by Anne Emond), a Canadian film that, as I said before, discusses the passage from childhood to adolescence, with Juliette having all sorts of experiences. It is a film that helps youngsters understand that it is only normal to face these types of challenges. Last, but not least, there was Maronas Fantastic Journey (by Anca Damian), accompanied by a short reel, Opinci (a coproduction of Studioset, FrameBreed and FatFox Animation). It was the Romanian film day, with the youngest participants, and we talked about responsibility and adventure.
(translated by: A.M. Popescu)
