Publications – Page 33 – European Children's Film Association

Sahim Omar Kalifa about BAGHDAD MESSI

“Playing football in a minefield”

Some 10 years after Sahim Omar Kalifa made a short film about a war victim with a football dream, BAGHDAD MESSI got a makeover as a feature film. Baghdad in 2009 is a hotbed of violence and terror. Director Sahim Omar Kalifa: “In Iraq, death and violence had become part of everyday life. I made a film about a child, Hamoudi, living in the most dangerous city in the world but not feeling the danger because he is possessed by his big dream of becoming a footballer.”

The BILLIE BLUE Team

“Summer is a woman!”

If feminism starts with giving compliments, then BILLIE BLUE is a truly feminist film. Director Mariloup Wolfe, screenwriter Sarah-Maude Beauchesne and lead actress Lilianne Skelly continuously pat each other on the back, and the way they express their proudness about each other – rightly so! – and the film – rightly so! – is contagious. The film’s sprawling, summery atmosphere continues perfectly on the terrace of a café in Zlin, where BILLIE BLUE celebrated its international premiere at the festival.

Save the date for ECFA AGM in 2024

ECFA sends all of you our dearest wishes for the New Year. But if you’re planning to collect these wishes in person, there is no better occasion than ECFA’s Annual General Meeting on Saturday 17 February, 2024 at 15.30 in Berlin. Members will meet and mingle at the Vertretung des Freistaates Sachsen beim Bund, Brüderstraße 11/12.

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Changing of the guard at Olympia Festival

During the award ceremony of the 26th Olympia Festival, an evening full of intense emotions, Artistic Director Dimitris Spyrou – who founded the festival 26 years ago at a time when terms such as “cinema for children” and “film education” were unknown to Greek audiences – announced that he will be stepping down and it’s up to Pantelis Panteloglou, ECFA President, and the team to take over.

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BUFF offers free accreditation!

The BUFF festival in Malmö, one of those yearly highlights not to be missed in the festival calendar, is again making a nice offer: a free accreditation for ECFA members.

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Aga Borzym about GIRLS’ STORIES

“They will never be as fragile again”

Two friends meet at the playground. Now, on the eve of adolescence, Jagoda and Zuzia have a lot to discuss. The answers to life’s bigger questions that adults can’t give them, maybe they can find with each other. There’s pimples, rebellion, first love, stupid rules at school, difficult dilemmas at home, and – above all – their first periods. When will it happen and how will it be? Jagoda and Zuzia introduce us to a world that every woman remembers and any boy watching this film can try to unravel.

Katarina Kerekesova about THE WEBSTERS MOVIE

“Yesterday I killed a fly”

Some people start screaming as soon as they see a spider. Anyone watching THE WEBSTERS MOVIE can hardly sit and scream for 70 minutes. Maybe ‘laugh and enjoy’ is a better option? Because the encounter with this lovable spider family is pleasant and carefree.

Boris Paval Conen & cast about DOJO

“There are no warning signs at every street corner”

The first time Brandon enters a dojo – a judo school – is on the occasion of a burglary. Caught in the act by the judo teacher, he can escape punishment if he promises to come and train and to distance himself from Billy’s gang, involved in robberies and petty crime in the neighbourhood. The proposal sounds tempting, but Brandon does not want to let down his best friend Stefano. Making the right choices becomes increasingly difficult.