FeKKids (8+)

The children’s programmes this year combine films from around the world, the majority of which were selected through an international call for submissions. The films give their youngest audiences a glimpse into various cultures and storytelling, while also giving them the opportunity to select and award their favourite film. The selection’s geographical diversity contributes to numerous authorial approaches, aesthetics, and cultural backgrounds. While films depict many facets of growing up, they also reveal subjects and sensations that cut beyond cultural borders. The programmes offer a chance to explore different cinematic forms, from animation to experimental films, in which the authors deftly demonstrate cinema’s potential to open up new spheres and questions.

The poetic, abstract, and surreal programme Under the Sweet Sky (5+) and its four films transport us to a world of unusual beings, animals, and mythological regions that go beyond the ordinary. Through silent stories, we follow characters who endure loneliness, fear, uncertainty, and other typical challenges, ultimately learning the value of friendship, diversity, and courage. It invites young viewers to observe, experience, and develop empathy through strong images and variety of animation techniques. The films are linked by their openness to new experiences and the notion that overcoming obstacles builds character and allows for new relationships and understanding of others.

The opening three-minute short, The Sky Was Candy (2025), subtly depicts the simple and poetic story of a yellow and blue day in a child’s life. We continue in the dark and messy nest of a lone raven, who is isolated from the world in Ravanera (2025) until a nightingale moves into the flat above it, upsetting the raven’s carefully maintained tranquillity. The Race of Friendship (2026) will ultimately resolve the centuries-old debate over which animal is faster, the turtle or the rabbit. Finally, the programme is concluded by the animation Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe! (2025). In it, the mythological boy Yios struggles to fit in with his surroundings, but after falling to Earth and meeting a boy who teaches him to embrace his differences, everything changes.

While Under the Sweet Sky brings viewers into a world of imagination, first friendship lessons, and embracing diversity, the Little Secrets (8+) programme is aimed at a slightly older young audience. The films in this section raise more complex questions, and their protagonists face everyday challenges of growing up, relationships and identity formation. The stories explore girls’ body changes and maturation, as well as the societal expectations and roles that come with it. They touch upon the first powerful emotions, such as falling in love and the importance of understanding and support, while also demonstrating how films, imagination, and friendship can provide a safe haven from loneliness, social struggles, and demanding realities. Instead of easy one-sided answers, they allow for reflection, conversations, and various interpretations, all the while remaining accessible, playful, and diverse. Aside from different themes, the programme also investigates several cinema forms, encouraging the viewers to consider that a film is more than just its story and characters.

Little Secrets begins with Animak – Animals in the Toilet (2026), a short and playful animation that employs humour to make viewers think about animals using the bathroom. It is followed by Tutti (2026), in which two friends confront their respective futures while rehearsing the flute and learning the value of cooperation and mutual understanding. In The Swimsuit (2025), the protagonist finds herself in front of a seemingly simple, but for her, nearly impossible decision. The most experimental film, Film with seven resolutions (2026), explores promises, expectations, and hopes for the coming year through a gentle conversation between father and daughter. The programme concludes with Our Kingdom (2026). It is the story of Becky and Jake, who spend a long summer afternoon together after school. Through playing games, chatting, and sharing chips, they offer each other something precious: a safe haven, understanding, and a promise to share each other’s problems.

The programmes differ in terms of target audience age and content, yet they unite in their belief that children are curious, sensible, and open to the possibility that films can be more than entertainment. When individualism and alienation are nowadays more prized than genuine friendships and mutual support, it becomes critical that we provide the youngest viewers with an alternative, showing them true emotions and powerful characters who are conscious of themselves and others.

Jelena Radić, Hana Kreševič