This year the student film competition includes 12 films selected from a pool of 65 diploma and debut works from 28 countries. The competition includes both full-length and short documentaries made in various styles. The films are united by a fresh, attentive, and original take on the events they present. They cover a broad range of topics both geographically and thematically: an insider’s view of a summer camp dedicated to the reenactment of WWII battles (Days of Youth), a compilation film that examines the uneasy parting with Ukraine’s socialist heritage (Fall of Lenin), an immersive journey of two Kenyan marathon runners searching for recognition and financial stability in Germany (The Long Distance), a story of four siblings separated from their biological mother and adopted by a foster family (Separated), an intimate portrait of the son of an iconic guitar virtuoso who struggles to liberate himself, and his music, from the shadow of his father (“Filthy Times”), an experimental workshop for refugees who earn a living by making bags from life jackets and boats washed ashore on Lesbos (Bag Mohajer), and the experiences of teenagers all over the world — brick-makers in Nepal (Dust), boys with Down syndrome dreaming about love in a Polish summer camp (Daniel), Irish youngsters channeling their energies into breeding horses (Urban Cowboys), Dominicans of Haitian descent who are threatened with deportation from the country they call home (Aislado), and Polish children taught the life lessons in school (Education, Patriotic Lesson).
This impressive variety of films makes a great contribution to this year’s festival, and breeds confidence in the future of documentary filmmaking. The jury will surely have a difficult time selecting the winner!

Selection committee: György Báron, Jeremy Braverman, Oksana Sarkisova, Szabolcs Szirony.