5th Documentary Film Forum for Young Audiences


Thu., May 9 | 10:00 a.m. | The National Ethnographic Museum

5th Documentary Film Forum for Young Audiences

The Andrzej Wajda Centre for Film Culture invites all individuals who sympathize with the idea of Polish documentary film for young audiences – filmmakers, producers, distributors, educators, teachers, and parents – to participate in the Documentary Film Forum for Young Audience. The forum will take place on May 9th (Thursday) at the State Ethnographic Museum in Warsaw as part of the Millennium Docs Against Gravity festival. Participation in the event is free, registration is required.
Organiser: Andrzej Wajda Centre For Film Culture

During the forum, organizers will discuss the concept of the SKOK W DOK Documentary Ideas Laboratory program – why it is valuable to create and fund Polish documentary cinema for young audience. Participants will also have a unique opportunity to examine this area of the film industry in other countries, thanks to the presence of guests from the Netherlands and the IDFA festival. The most important part of the program will be presentations of seven projects from the fourth edition of the program, for which awards for the best projects will be presented by our partners. The forum is an excellent opportunity for collaborative idea exchange and the creation of a support network for the brand of Polish documentary films for young audience.

The forum will take place on May 9th (Thursday) at the State Ethnographic Museum in Warsaw as part of the Millennium Docs Against Gravity festival.

Participation in the event is free, registration is required:
https://forms.gle/na35zZ54oqXLcyhk9

Projects:
Invisible Places, dir. Karolina Wajman
Playing War, dir. Anna Wolszczak, Piotr Pluta
Last Summer, dir. Eleanora Iadkouskaya, Jan Jurczak
Julia's Race, dir. Paulina Sobczak
Simon, dir. Stefan Łazarski prod. Agnieszka Skalska (PL)
Becoming That Man, dir. Martyna Nitkowska, Weronika Perłowska
Sitting at Home, dir. Katarzyna Piorek, prod. Sergio C. Ayala - Monserratefilms (SE)

PROGRAM 5th DOCUMENTARY FILM FORUM FOR YOUNG AUDIENCES
10:00-10:30 – Forum opening
10:30-11:15 – Case study analyzing the needs of young audiences in the context of documentary film based on directing and programming experience (IDFA) – led by Niki Padidar
11:15-11:45 – Coffee break
11:45-13:05 – Pitching of projects developed as part of the 4th edition of the SKOK W DOK Documentary Ideas Laboratory – part 1 (in English)
13:05-13:20 – Break
13:20-14:40 – Pitching of projects developed as part of the 4th edition of the SKOK W DOK Documentary Ideas Laboratory – part 2 (in English)
14:40-15:30 – Lunch break
15:30-17:00 – One-to-one meetings for projects
15:00-16:30 – Workshop "How to Get Them Interested in Documentaries" for teachers (in Polish) - led by directors Jaśmina Wójcik and Katarzyna Lesisz

GUESTS AND SPEAKERS:

Niki Padidar is a director. Her debut documentary "Ninnoc" won seven international awards, including at the Berlinale and IDFA. Her second documentary film and first feature-length film "All You See" opened IDFA 2022 and won the award for "Best Documentary" presented by the Dutch Directors Guild. Niki directs, writes, creates new concepts, and tells stories for children, youth, and adults. She specializes in working with youth. In 2023, she curated a selection of films for the Youth Documentary competition at the IDFA festival. Niki was born in Iran. She studied photography at New School University in New York, completed an orientation year at the Rietveld Academy of Art, and earned a master's degree at the University of Amsterdam, specializing in "Youth and Media" and "Media Representation."

Katarzyna Lesisz – graduate of directing at the Lodz Film School. Author of the short documentary film "I Dance for You" (2018), which won the main prize at the IDFA festival in the Kids & Docs Competition. Winner of the Małopolska Film Award at the Gdynia Film Festival, Grand Prix at the Ca' Foscari Short Film Festival in Venice for the film "Saszka" (2018). Author of short documentary films "My Brother’s Life," "A New Tomorrow," and the feature film "Our Game" shown at numerous international and national festivals.

Jaśmina Wójcik – visual artist, director, creator of listening-oriented, participatory socio-artistic actions. She engages in inclusion and giving subjectivity to communities lacking visibility and the opportunity for expression. Director of the full-length creative documentary "Ursus Factory Symphony" (2018). For several years, she has been involved in empathic education by developing her original artistic creation practices for children. She entrusts agency and subjectivity to children, treating them as co-creators and inviting them into dialogue. Currently, she focuses mainly on grassroots education practices, the result of which will be her new film based on Janusz Korczak's novel "King Matt the First."
 

Organizer: Andrzej Wajda Centre for Film Culture

Partners: Millennium Docs Against Gravity, Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Poland, Krakow Festival Office, Krakow Film Commission, The Polish Producers Alliance (KIPA), Open Association Dziki Bez