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The Zlín Film Festival readies its 58th edition

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- The upcoming edition of the oldest and largest festival for children’s and youth film will also celebrate the centenary of Czechoslovakian cinema

The Zlín Film Festival readies its 58th edition
The Falcons by Bragi Þór Hinriksson

The oldest and largest international film festival for children and youth, the Zlín Film Festival, will be celebrating the centenary of Czechoslovakia via several film sections and supporting programmes. “We will screen a collection of Czech and Slovak children's films and fairy tales put together by actors and filmmakers, accompanied by some of their genuine memories. Many of them will be bringing their favourite film to the festival," said artistic director Markéta Pášmová. However, this won’t be the only anniversary being celebrated, as the National Film Archive has prepared a special thematic block dedicated to the 120th anniversary of the first Czech films. 

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The programmers have prepared a line-up of 300 films from 55 countries, including underrepresented countries such as Swaziland, the Faroe Islands, Singapore, Venezuela and Chile. Bragi Þór Hinriksson’s The Falcons was chosen as the opening film, and will be enjoying its international premiere, while Juraj Lehotský’s film Nina [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Juraj Lehotský
film profile
]
, now entering local distribution, will be screened for an adult audience during the opening ceremony. 

As was the case at previous editions, the gathering is trying to streamline its programme. The five competition sections will offer a diverse selection of films for children and youth in various formats – 33 features, 62 short animated films and 74 short student films – such as Supa Modo [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
by Likarion Wainaina, Rosie & Moussa by Dorothée Van den BergheThe Witch Hunters [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
 by Raško MiljkovićRock My Heart [+see also:
trailer
interview: Emilio Sakraya
film profile
]
 by Hanno OlderdissenBackstage [+see also:
trailer
interview: Andrea Sedláčková
film profile
]
 by Andrea SedláčkováThe Best of All Worlds [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
 by Adrian GoigingerTeam Hurricane [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Annika Berg
film profile
]
 by Annika Berg and We [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
 by Rene Eller. The novelty of the 58th edition is the incorporation of the documentary sidebar into the competition section. “The ECFA Doc Award will reward the best of the seven European documentaries for young audiences, and the ZFF is working with the European Children's Film Association (ECFA) to organise this competition,” says Pášmová. 

As usual, a sidebar will be dedicated to one particular country, and this year it will be Austria, which will have 15 of its feature films for children and teenagers screened. The programmers have also decided to introduce a brand-new section, American Teen, focused on American independent films. Alongside the showcase, the Zlín Film Festival hosts several events for film professionals, such as a lecture on virtual reality, project pitching sessions, a workshop on developing a project, and other activities.

The 58th edition of the Zlín Film Festival runs from 25 May–3 June in Zlín, the Czech Republic. The full programme is available here.

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