YOUNG SHORT FILM FESTIVAL HAMBURG MO&FRIESE –

GROWING TOGETHER IN THE CINEMA

The Hamburg Young Short Film Festival Mo&Friese will take place from June 4 to 9, 2024. The international program highlights contemporary issues for a young audience. The thematic focus: growth and what it takes to achieve it. With different film perspectives and inclusive measures, Mo&Friese strengthens the cinema as a place of togetherness.

SHORT FILMS FOR ALL AGES

The Young Short Film Festival Hamburg Mo&Friese presents age-appropriately curated competition programs for children and young people aged 4 to 16. The festival welcomes daycare groups, school classes, families and private individuals. This year, the supporting program is dedicated to the theme of light. “Light is not only central to the growth of plants, but also to cinema itself. We want to discover this connection together in the PHOTOSYNTHESIS film program and with workshops on shadow play and the ancient light printing process of cyanotype,” says festival director Lina Paulsen.

CINEMA AS A PLACE OF COMMUNITY

Kitaklasse in the Zeise cinemas

In order to introduce the film enthusiasts of tomorrow to the cinema, the festival takes several approaches: For example, the competition programs are viewed, discussed and chosen by children’s and youth juries in all age groups during the festival week. In addition, visits by daycare centers and school classes can be supported by educational material, thus simplifying access to the films. Mo&Friese’s sponsored “Klasse reserviert” program also enables school classes to visit the cinema that would otherwise not be able to afford it. “Cinema is a place of community that has historically always brought together different social classes and enabled encounters with different points of view. Anyone who gets to know such a place as a child has a much better chance of feeling comfortable and welcome there as an adult,” says Dr. Carsten Brosda, Hamburg’s Senator for Culture and Media, describing Mo&Friese’s commitment. A colorful workshop program on screenwriting, moderation and cyanotyping rounds off the hands-on program.

A PROGRAM AT EYE LEVEL

Program “And goodbye” (from 9 years): Death to the bikini by Justine Gauthier

In the movie theater, young audiences can rave about the boy in the choir, fly to the moon and set off in search of lost socks. They meet deceased people in dreams, find new hopes and watch young people create a completely new self at the last minute. In many programs, we encounter the element of water as both a vital resource and a refreshing cool-down, dripping, washing, flowing or – much worse – failing to appear.

The festival films from 27 countries meet the audience at eye level with relevant, diverse and challenging themes. Moderated in an age-appropriate way, children and young people come into contact with strong identification figures and intrinsic themes in the cinema – with plenty of room for discussion. “Films – especially movies – train our empathic muscles and open our eyes to other perspectives. An opportunity that we should urgently seize in times of charged political moods,” says Lina Paulsen, describing the aim of the curation. Young filmmakers are also given a place on the big screen. The GIB MIR 5! competition will show films by filmmakers up to the age of 18 on the theme of “Time is running out”.

INCLUSIVE MEASURES EXPANDED

Mo&Friese remains committed to its goal of making the program more inclusive. In the 26th edition, several programs for different age groups will once again be accompanied in German sign language , and the “Neuland” program will also be accompanied by audio description . Wheelchair-accessible cinemas are clearly marked in the program.

MO&FRIESE AT THE POST OFFICE ON KALTENKIRCHER PLATZ

The big kick-off: Craft party at the POST Kaltenkircher Platz

The Young Short Film Festival Hamburg Mo&Friese and the Short Film Festival Hamburg – both organized by the Short Film Agency Hamburg – take place at the same time. At the joint festival center POST at Kaltenkircher Platz in Altona, Mo&Friese offers a shadow play station as well as a colorful craft party on June 2. The two festivals are also moving closer together programmatically and combining adolescent and adult short film: the NEXT program presented by Mo&Friese will show short films that are screening in the International Competition of the Hamburg Short Film Festival.

PRESS CONTACT AND FURTHER DATES

Image material and this press release can be downloaded here. The complete program can be found here. For press inquiries please contact:

Marcel Wicker & Lara M. Gahlow

Press & Communication

kommunikation@shortfilm.com

Advance ticket sales for private individuals will start in mid-May, daycare centers and school classes can already register.