From October 01 to 07, LUCAS, the oldest film festival for a young audience, invites children and young people for the 40th time to get to know films beyond the mainstream. The declared aim of the makers is to make film art comprehensible to young people, to get them excited about it and to turn them into real film fans. And of course this is not only done by showing them films, but also by involving them directly in the festival. This year again, children and young people have been selected to participate in two juries (8+ and 13+) to decide which films will be awarded this year.
But also discussions with filmmakers and other offers should enable the young viewers to see films with completely different eyes. More than 70 films from 35 countries will be shown at the various venues. Most of these films will probably only be shown in large cinemas at this festival, which makes it even more special.
"40 editions of LUCAS, that's more than four decades of living children's and youth film culture in the middle of Frankfurt," emphasized the patron of the tradition-rich festival, Frankfurt's Lord Mayor Peter Feldmann. LUCAS is also always a "place of encounter and participation: It is great that children and young people not only experience cinema as spectators, but can also meet filmmakers, directors and actors in person and participate in the programme and in the jury. In this way, cinema becomes a place of learning."
The spectrum of films ranges from feature films and animated films to short films and documentaries. The films take visitors on a cinematic journey around the world. In the cinema, children and young people experience the everyday life of their peers in far-away countries, accompany young protagonists on their way to adulthood and recognise their own experiences and feelings.
Four short film programmes and 16 feature-length films compete for the LUCAS prizes in the film competitions in the 8+ and 13+ age sections. The juries, equally composed of young film fans and industry professionals, will award the prize for the best feature-length film (5,000 euros) and the prize for the best short film (2,000 euros) in the age sections 8+ and 13+. In addition, there is a non-endowed audience award. A jury of the ECFA (European Children's Film Association) will be present.
Young film lovers are explicitly invited by LUCAS to help shape the festival. In doing so, festival-goers slip into a variety of roles. As festival reporters, for example, they report on festival events and conduct interviews with film guests, write film reviews or, as jury members, decide who will receive the LUCAS awards.
Entire film programmes are curated by groups and school classes under film educational guidance and presented as part of the LUCAS programme, for example by a school class from Frankfurt's Schillerschule. In the project "LUCAS goes Preungesheim", children and young people from a Preungesheim day-care centre curated a "best-of" of short films from LUCAS 2016 during the Easter holidays, which they presented at an open-air cinema evening in their district.
Another highlight of the 40th LUCAS Film Festival is the big <link http: lucas-filmfestival.de familientag-2017 _blank>Family Day at the Film Museum on 03 October. Here there will be exciting guided tours, activities, workshops and much more with free admission.
Information about the film festival as well as the films shown in the program can be found at <link http: lucas-filmfestival.en _blank>
