My First Festival in Barcelona & Madrid (9-24 November) offers young audiences (aged 2-12) a unique chance to discover new films in a programme of shorts and features. Now the festival has taken up a special interest in the works of young film students.
The festival encourages the participation of animation students from across the European Union, who can submit their work to the three competitive short film sections. Submissions are open via the festival website until 31 May.
Has this interest always been in the DNA of My First Festival? Antoine Leonetti: “When promoting upcoming talents – which is something we have always been doing – we noticed that a fresh approach often came from students in animation schools. We warmly recommended teachers to pass the message, as for them to send us their works (like graduation movies). We received great movies from a bunch of French and German students, for instance. Now we’re happy to broaden our scope towards all European countries.”
Three short competition programmes (2+/4+/7+) are open to all animators, whether already working in a studio or just having finished their education. Leonetti: “This offers them a great opportunity to present their works in an egalitarian way. It’s also a good way to have our young audience actively involved in the festival by having them voting for the different Audience Awards.”
My First Festival was the first festival of its kind in Spain, “Our audience is very young, and there’s a great demand for independent quality movies from parents. The festival is trying to fill that gap.”