Deadline: 30 November 1999

Kids for Kids Film Festival 2006
June 15-17th
Nicosia, Cyprus

On June 15-17 over 80 youth filmmakers, their adult mentors and youth media allies converged on the small Mediterranean Island of Cyprus for the 4th Annual Kids for Kids Film Festival. Kids for Kids features films made by children for children worldwide. Listen Up! Creative Director Austin Haeberle participated in an international jury for the Kids for Kids Film Festival in the island's capital city Nicosia.

Check out the PHOTOS from Cyprus and the 2006 Kids for Kids Film Festival.

See the list of winning films.

Kids for Kids is a tribute to the power of filmmaking to unite people: youth filmmakers ages 6-18 came from Canada, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Greece, India, Norway, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia Spain and Syria. At the festival more than 40 films were screened and youth participated in intensive filmmaking workshops. Kids for Kids brought youth together who might not otherwise have had a chance -- especially youth from the host country Cyprus.

About Cyprus
The beauty of Cyprus and the warmth of its people stand in stark contrast to the political situation of such a small island (about the size of smallest U.S. state, Rhode Island). Since 1974, Cyprus has been divided in two: the Turkish north and the Greek south with the United Nations maintaining a "green line" in the middle. But for Kids for Kids, filmmaking is about crossing boundaries and invited young people from both sides of the island. Greek and Turkish Cypriot youth came together, produced a film and screened it before the international audience in the capital city of Nicosia. While the differences on both sides of Cyprus are vast, it is the hope of all "Cypriots" to live, one day, in a united country.

About the Organizers
Kids for Kids is a project of CIFEJ, a worldwide body of youth media activists, filmmakers and academics dedicated to promoting excellence in the audio-visual media for young audiences. CIFEJ, a French acronym for the International Centre of Films for Children and Youth, was created in 1955 and has now 150 members in 56 countries.

The 2006 Kids for Kids Festival was funded through the Greece & Cyprus-based
S.O.F.I.A. Foundation. Cyprus entered the EU in 2005 and is now building a media literacy curriculum in schools. By having Kids for Kids in Cyprus, S.O.F.I.A. was able to raise awareness and interest in children producing their own media. Festival participants were warmly received by the Minister of Education & Culture and reported on by local TV and print media.

About the Participants
For Listen Up!, it was amazing opportunity to connect with organizations worldwide who are committed to bringing authentic youth voices and creativity to new audiences. The following is a brief list of some of the hard-working groups and talented people we met.

Belgrade Media Education Centre (Serbia) – This is a media arts center for Serbian youth. They host a local Kids for Kids Balkans festival. They also hold an international media workshop in the summer and an international animation workshop in fall.

Camera-etc. (Belgium) – They have been running animation workshops for youth since 1979. At Kids for Kids, Camera-etc. Director Jean-Luc Slock ran an intensive animation workshop for the youth participants.

Center for Communication and Development (India) – Swapan Mukherjee & Sanyal Amitave run an orphanage for destitute kids & those who were trafficked to Saudia Arabia for begging and camel jockeying. The orphans make amazing films about their experiences! They've won the grand prize at Kids for Kids in 2004 & 2005.

Children's Film Factory (Poland)– based in an art gallery in Wroclaw, the Children's Film Factory has been making films with youth since 1985. They screened a beautiful animation at Kids for Kids.

C Media (UK)– some amazing stuff is coming out of rural England. Although located in a restored barn, C Media travels around the UK training young people to make their own films, like the animated “Enchanted Gourd” which was selected for the Kids for Kids festival.

Cornerhouse (UK)–– Media Arts Center in Manchester, England. Rebecca McKnight is a talented mentor and brought five talented youth filmmakers with her.

DVOTED.net (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden) -- This is the Nordic version of listenup.org. It's a beautiful site that allows Nordic youth to "publish" their own films online. They also have a cool "mentor" section – 10 established filmmakers who are on call to answer questions from youth.

Dong-Ah Broadcasting College (Korea) – Wang-Tae Lim runs an international youth media camp every year in August uniting 80 Korean and international youth to produce films together. He also runs a youth film festival.

First Light (UK) – If you're thinking youth media in the UK, think First Light. First Light funds youth film projects across the UK and makes filmmaking accessible to just about everyone -- they just created Film Street for very young filmmakers (elementary grades).

International Children's Film Festival of Cyprus -- The International Children's Film Festival of Cyprus (ICFFCY) is aimed at giving children the opportunity to view and discuss films, even at an early age and throughout a lifetime, using the school platform as field-work.

Kinder FilmFestival Kyoto (Japan) – Kaoru Mizuguchi is teaching students animation and doing it really well -- 1st prize animation at kids for kids. Kaoru also runs the Kinder FilmFestival. Write him at kaoru828@gray.plala.or.jp

Kino Jeunese (Canada) - Stephane Lauzon is a media arts teacher in Montreal and runs an awesome monthly screening for 18 local high schools every month. Part of the Kino film movement. Youth watching and talking film should be everywhere!

Orson the Kid (Spain) – Spanish filmmaker Jorge Viroga worked with 50 youth to produce "Guardivias" a beautifully crafted film that achieved distribution across Spain. They've made dozens of short films and are also in pre-production on yet another feature.

Station Next (Denmark)– There's something powerful happening up north. Apparently, Station Next has got itself a hold of a former military base and made a film studio out of it. Youth head off to "boot camp" for the summer and make amazing short films. Station Next Filmmaker Jakob Rasmussen took top prize at Kids for Kids for his film "Fish." Contact Director Suzanne Wad for all of the details.

ValoAurinko Arts and Media for Children (Finland) –– ValoAurinko produces films by and for youth, many of whom are immigrants to Finland. Their youth-produced work is broadcast on Finnish television.

Kids for Kids DVD
Visist the Kids for Kids website to see the list of winning films and purchase a copy of the Kids for Kids DVD. It will be loaded with beautifully produced youth films from around the world.

Many thanks!
Listen Up! is especially grateful to the organizers who put together a magnificent festival.
Athina Rikaki - CIFEJ
Christina Chinas – S.O.F.I.A. Foundation
Jo-Anne Blouin – CIFEJ
Louise Hallé – CIFEJ
Diane Dagenais - CIFEJ
Gert Hermans - European Children's Film Association

And a million thanks to the local organizers in Cyprus!

KFKF 2007
Check the KKFKF web site to get the latest info on the KFKF 2007 entry forms. Let's meet in Cyprus in June next year!

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