EVENT DESCRIPTION
A-FilmTeensFest:
A = “A” quality audiovisual works
FilmTeens = teenagers and children shooting films
Fest = great festival!

It is an international festival of audiovisual works made by the youngest generation, aged 6 to 20, from around the world. It takes place on the platform www.afilmteensfest.com

The project took place for the 1st time on December 14-15, 2019, in Prague in the Cinema Světozor as Teenfilmfest.cz. Because of Covid pandemic, we continued in 2020 with online screenings for schools only. The regular 2nd year of the festival took place online in November 14 - December 5, 2021, by reaching over 9.500 streams and over 8.200 spectators.

Films from abroad and the Czech Republic will compete together. The year of production of the work is in 2022 still not important to us. The preferred topics are Love (in various forms), Family and relationships, The nature and climate change, Cyberworld, Involvement of youth in the public space, Christian values, themes against racism, bullying, violence, discrimination, etc. However, works with other topics can be accepted as well. But videos supporting addictive substances and any type of violence, racism, nudity, and other inappropriate themes will be excluded.

The selection and awards of films will be decided by an international jury of professionals from the world of film and media (in 2019, the jury was composed of famous Czech personalities, such as the documentary filmmaker Vít Klusák, the writer and screenwriter Emil Hakl, the director and screenwriter Olga Dabrowská and other representatives of the youngest artistic generation in the Czech Republic). In 2021 the jurors included known Czech celebrities, as young popular actor Marek Lambora, an acclaimed actress Nela Boudová, a television journalist Jan Tuna, and other seven important personalities from Czech film world. For the year 2022 we aim to acquire an international jury that will be announced gradually on our website.

The works will be available online in approximately 40 - 45 min. sections. The sections of the audiovisual works will be drawn up according to the spectators’ ages: up to 8 years, 9 - 11 years, 12 - 14 years, 15 - 17 years, 18 - 20 years. If the proposals of films will allow it, we will form the sections for each of these age groups related to their topics. The films will have optional English and Czech subtitles.

The festival program will be complemented by workshops, talk shows and a Q&A - and they will be mediated to an international audience via online transmission. The Q&A events, always with the main creators of approx. five films whose work will be thematically and age-related, will be announced in advance. The themes of workshops will be announced. Topics of talk shows will be for example: Distribution and screening possibilities of the works made by children and youth (festivals, etc.), Presentation of the most successful incoming filmmakers from all over the world aged 12 to 17 etc. Project "Windows to the World" (film workshops for children from Czech children's homes) will also be presented. In 2021 we organized various workshops such as “Don´t worry and start with filmmaking”, “Bullying on internet”, “Fakenews” etc. The award ceremony will take place in person, in Prague cinema and it will be held in the presence of celebrities.

We want to support creativity, media literacy, the development of mind and aesthetics, moral and social perception, as well as the critical thinking of today’s children and young people. Our objectives are cultural enjoyment and entertainment, but also the upbringing of nowadays youth, as well as alternative education. It is important for us to inspire teachers and help them to develop audiovisual and media education. Our intention is to develop the quality and originality of the works made by teenagers through attractive, easy-to-use and constantly-improving techniques, which should lead to the elaboration of own original themes with minimal budgets.

The festival program, access to the film sections and other information will be gradually published on www.afilmteensfest.com.

Awards & Prizes

In each of the four main categories (fiction, documentary, animation, experimental) 4 prizes will be given, according to the age (up to 10 years, 11 - 14 years, 15 - 17 years, 18 - 20 years). In the 5th category “other audiovisual works” one prize will be awarded. The most interesting works will receive the following special awards: Best International Film, Best Czech Out-of-school Film, Best Czech School Film, Best work on environmental theme and Best rendering of a youth involvement in public space; three Audience Awards will be also announced, one of them will be the prize of a non-professional jury composed of teens from 11 to 17. The most prestigious prizes will be Ben Barenholtz Award and Vojtěch Jasný Award for an exceptional contribution in the field of youth films, international and in Czech Republic. Other special recognition will be handed over in case of a higher number of quality films. All the winners will receive graphically processed diplomas. The winner of the Best International Film Award will receive financial amount of min. of 500 EUR and the winners of main awards (1st places and special awards) will obtain prize packages from festival sponsors (as various electronic devices, games, cosmetics, books, clothes, writing/painting accessories etc.).

Rules & Terms

You can apply your works via FilmFreeway or www.afilmteensfest.com (on this web page please read closely the festival regulations). If you need a FREE WAVING CODE, write us an e-mail, we will provide it for you.
The year of production is not important.

DEMANDED MATERIALS:
An audiovisual work in original language and with English subtitles, a brief description (synopsis) of the work, the bio and filmography of the main creators, dialogue or subtitle list of the work in English (obligatory!), photographs of main authors and from the film (1 MB), trailer of the film and its dialogue/subtitle list in English and original language, the motivation and circumstances of the origin of the work, any complementary info about the creation of the work that are essential.

VIDEO FORMATS (for the works and show reels)
Please deliver in MP4 format, we will convert all other formats to it.
Video: AVC - H.264 codec (other formats will be converted to it), min. bitrate 5Mbps,
distinction of min. fullHD (1020x1080), in other cases letterbox
Audio: AAC codec, min. bitrate 192kbs, stereo - number of channels

FOREIGN LANGUAGES
If you have versions of your film and its trailer with English subtitles (English can be also your mother tongue), send them to us. Otherwise, we will produce subtitles in English. The dialogue lists of the audiovisual work in your mother tongue and in English are necessary for us.

DELIVERY OF FILMS AND AUDIOVISUAL WORKS
If your film is selected, please give us a permission to download it with English subtitles and if possible also in your mother tongue directly from FilmFreeway platform. It is the easiest way for us and we need your film in a required format. If you have your film only with English subtitles, send us also your work in your mother tongue via YouTube link or WeTransfer etc. (we must produce Czech subtitles). Trailers of your film are crucial for its promotion, so please do not underestimate their production! If you do not allow us to download your film and trailer/s via FilmFreeway, then please send us the original version and the other one with English subtitles via Youtube link, WeTransfer or other platforms, or our web with the help of our staff. Our e-mails: lucia.program@afilmteensfest.com or prihlasky@afilmteensfest.com.

DELIVERY OF THE OTHER MATERIALS
The other materials as photos, key art/poster etc. we wish to download also from this platform, and we would need again your permission to do that. If this would not be for some reason possible, then send us these materials via WeTranfer etc. or above-mentioned e-mails. We definitely need a dialogue or subtitle list of your film in your mother tongue and in English. You can upload them on FilmFreeway platform or send them to us by e-mail. The bio and filmography of main creators, the motivation, and circumstances of the origin of the work, and any other complementary info about the creation of the work are also desirable. You can upload them via FilmFreeway or send them by e-mail.

DECLARATION of the creators of the work and/or their legal representatives:

1. The main creators and authors of the work are children and young people from all over the world between the ages of 7 and 21. Adults should cooperate on no more than 40% of the work, the majority should be done by the creators (under the age of 21) themselves.
2.The creators and/or their legal representatives declare that they are entitled to register the work at A-FilmTeensFest (hereinafter the "organizer" or "festival") and to grant all the permits described below that are related to its use and distribution. They declare that they give the organizer permission to use all the submitted materials for festival promotional and organizational purposes, and to give the organizer and any other third party cooperating with the organizer the right to shoot and photograph the appearance and voice of the creators for the promotional reasons of the festival and the work.
3. The creators and/or their legal representatives declare that they have, and are handling, all copyright, screening, and other rights related to the production and distribution of the work and are fully responsible for this. The creators of work submitted and selected for the festival have the right to use the name and logo of the festival in their promotional and personal materials (portfolio, etc.). The creators and/or their legal representatives agree to be added to the list of e-mail contacts of the organizer. Their names and e-mails may also be shared with third-party partners for the purpose of promoting the festival, with other international festivals, etc. If they do not agree, they will notify the organizer who is obliged to take this into account and not to use their names and contacts.
4. If the work is accepted for the festival, the creators and/or their legal representatives grant the organizer the non-exclusive rights to screen, promote and distribute the work, including online screenings, and in full as the organizer plans. In case of disagreement with this, they will send to the organizer in writing and in time a prohibition on the use of the work. They agree that the organizer may use the work within other distribution opportunities of the festival, and they will not receive any compensation from the organizer for the use of the work in accordance with the stated regulations and conditions. They also accept that the organizer can ask them to sign further distribution agreements, which they have free will to accept or reject. The organizer hereby does not hold/acquire any copyright or ownership rights to the work.
5. If the creators are under the age of 18, their legal representatives must agree with all the stated rules and conditions. Where relevant, the legal representatives of the underage creators understand and acknowledge that they agree to all the rules and conditions set forth herein for the creators of whom they are the legal representatives. The creators and/or their legal representatives acknowledge that the proper submission of the application to the organizer constitutes the agreement regarding the described use of the work between the organizer and the creators and/or their legal representatives and so their approval to the stated regulations and conditions.

4 Reviews
Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Bryn Wright

    Thank you for making my daughter (age 10) feel so welcome in your festival. She's thrilled to have won an award, but also very much enjoyed being interviewed, and listening to the other director interviews. Bryn wants to be an animator and it's special experiences like this that really make a difference. Thank you again!

    December 2021
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    Response from festival:

    Thank you so much for your feedback, we are so happy that Bryn enjoyed the interview and we are looking forward for her future career!

  • Katherine Johnson

    Stellar communication. Great festival with an appreciated focus on young people.

    December 2021
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    Response from festival:

    Hello Katherine, thank you so much for this comment. We are happy that you appreciate our effort!

  • Ava Bounds

    Lovely festival. Kind hosts and good communication.

    December 2021
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    Response from festival:

    Thank you so much for this lovely comment. We are so happy about this feedback.

  • Liam Butler

    It was such a blast to be included in this festival, with the other amazing films in our category! We were notified of the festival, and able to share with friends and family. Congratulations to the winners and thanks again for including us!

    December 2021
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    Response from festival:

    Hello Liam, thank you very much for this lovely feedback. We were more than happy to include you and we will be looking forward for your next work!