ATHICFF #6
Super Powers – Super Feelings
From November 13 to 19, the Athens International Children’s Film Festival (ATHICFF) unfolded its 6th edition, hosting audiences at the Megaron Athens Concert Hall, the Municipal Theater of Piraeus, the Museum of Cycladic Art, and cinemas Kifisia 1 & 2 Cinemax, DANAOS, and CINEAC. Screenings of short and feature films, along with educational workshops, completed the puzzle of the most Super Cinematic Festival! Remarkably, workshops, for the first time, spanned across multiple locations, and all sessions were fully booked!
With a selection of 91 films from 32 countries, the audience embraced stories speaking to children, teenagers, and parents. The films explored themes of self-expression, diversity, and the joy of embracing one’s identity on the journey to adulthood.
The festival’s friends connected with the characters of the films screened in both old and new sections such as “Shorts for Tots”, “Playful Friends”, “Live Dubbing”, “Kids’ Picks”, “Teens’ Picks”, “Greek Shorts” and more. Certainly, enduring themes stood out: “Our Neighborhood” and “Environment”, while we couldn’t overlook “Baby & Me” for our very young friends. Finally, the foyer of the Dimitris Mitropoulos Hall underwent a lively transformation with Cozy Kids furniture. Thanks to face painting from Moutzoures, the vibrant decorations filled the space with happy and colorful faces. This provided attendees with the opportunity, between screenings, to participate in creative activities, meet a guide dog from Nannuka, and enjoy educational games on Samsung tablets.
For yet another year, all films were accessible with SDH subtitles, and special emphasis was placed on familiarizing the general audience with accessibility tools through the special event “Inclusion in Action.” Additionally, two screenings with different accessibility tools were held for the same program. Specifically, one was accessible with Audio Description, while the other included Greek Sign Language Interpretation and SDH subtitles.
As part of its multifaceted initiatives, the Festival inaugurated this year a series of initiatives and events aimed at professionals in the audiovisual industry. This effort is to enhance and promote the production of children’s and youth content in our country. Thus, on November 15 and 16 at the Megaron Athens Concert Hall and the Stratos Vasilikos Athens Hotel, the “ATHICFF for Professionals” took place. It included seminars and workshops for young professionals in the field, presentations of best practices, and specifically co-productions between countries in Southeastern Europe. Networking meetings were also held among Greek producers of children’s content and selected European colleagues, and sales agents with the aim of promoting collaboration.