SECTION: Youth Film U18 Competition

From manipulative power in an elite choir to a bitter brotherly duel in the boxing ring of life – ambition and vulnerability collide in this year's youth film competition. A night-time escape in a motorhome becomes a quiet plea for self-determination, while magical parallel worlds open up in the snow-covered Ore Mountains. The hunt for Olympic gold leads to the heart of Athens' harsh reality, and joints and night-time walks transform the stagnation in Tallinn into a dazzling summer adventure. Between abuse and courage, violence and tenderness, longing and resistance, young people in Greece and Czechia, Slovakia and Estonia, Poland and Germany feel their way to their limits – and yet always find new ways to raise their own voices.

Curation & texts: Joshua Jádi