Trinkerkinder(2020)

Guys 'N Divas: Battle of the High School Musicals(en)

This fascinating documentary chronicles the intense rivalry between high schools in Southern Indiana to win a prestigious festival performance with lavish student musical productions that often cost in the tens of thousands of dollars to produce.

Kids(de)

In Bettina Büttner’s exquisitely lucid documentary Kinder (Kids), childhood dysfunction, loneliness, and pent-up emotion run wild at an all-boys group home in southern Germany. The children interned here include ten-year-olds Marvin and Tommy. Marvin, fiddling with a mini plastic Lego sword, explains matter-of-factly to the camera, “This is a knife. You use it to cut stomachs open.” Dennis, who is even younger, is seen in a hysteric fit, mimicking some pornographic scene. Boys will be boys, but innocence is disproportionately spare here. Choosing not to dwell on the harsh specifics, Büttner reveals the disconcerting manner in which traumatic episodes can manifest themselves in the mundane — a game of Lego, Hide and Seek, or Truth or Dare. Filmed in lapidary black-and-white, Büttner’s fascinating film sheds light on childhood from the boys’ characteristically disadvantaged perspective — one not yet fully cognizant — leaving much ethically to ponder over.

Where Dragons Live(en)

Following the death of their parents, Harriet and her siblings must unpack their childhood fears as they prepare to sell their dragon-filled Oxfordshire home. Between the clutter and the boxes, the siblings find themselves haunted by the memories of their late parents: a dragon-obsessed father and an exacting mother, and the esoteric collections of objects they left behind.

Tall Poppy: A Skater's Story(en)

A child who just loved to skate from the age of eight, Poppy Starr Olsen became the number one female bowl skater in Australia at 14 and went on to take out bronze at the XGames at 17 - the ultimate competition in the world of skateboarding. The same year, skateboarding was announced as an official additional sport category at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Now faced with the opportunity to represent Australia on the world stage Poppy grapples with the transition from skater to athlete and the pressure of competition mounts in a way it has never done before.

Hannas baby(sv)

Facing Down Under: A Backpackers Documentary(de)

A 19-year-old high school graduate travels through Australia as a backpacker and accompanies his adventure with a camera.

Beautiful Young Minds(en)

This BAFTA nominated documentary tells the story of some of the brightest mathematical brains of a generation. Each year, exceptionally gifted teenagers from over 90 countries compete for medals at the International Mathematical Olympiad. The film follows a group of brilliant teenagers as they battle it out to become the chosen six selected to represent the UK.

You Can't Do That on Film(en)

What happens when you travel to the birthplace of green slime? For an entire generation of classic Nickelodeon fans, it's like finding the Holy Grail.

Resolved(en)

The fascinating complexity of high school debate gives way to a portrait of the equally complex racial and class bias of American education in Greg Whiteley's riveting documentary.

Der entsorgte Vater(de)

In moving interviews, four fathers describe their suffering and efforts to keep contact with their children. A mother justifies the refusal of contact from her point of view. Despite the seriousness of the topic, the film manages to remain entertaining and even delivers an amusing snapshot of German sensitivities and the state of the Republic.

Mad Hot Ballroom(en)

Eleven-year-old New York City public school kids journey into the world of ballroom dancing and reveal pieces of themselves and their world along the way. Told from their candid, sometimes humorous perspectives, these kids are transformed, from reluctant participants to determined competitors, from typical urban kids to "ladies and gentlemen," on their way to try to compete in the final citywide competition.

Spellbound(en)

This documentary follows 8 teens and pre-teens as they work their way toward the finals of the Scripps Howard national spelling bee championship in Washington D.C.

Kill 'Em All(es)

Mila and María are two teenagers who get to know each other through video correspondences they send to each other. One day, they arrange to meet in person.

Wrong Fellows(nl)

Documentary about four maffia-like friends based in Amsterdam.

Note One(en)

A study of my parents in grey and white. An evening film. My mother lights the sabbath candles, cooks, crochets, sleeps, talks to father reading the paper – we are together. This is the first completed note.

Sounds Like Teen Spirit(en)

A 2008 documentary and debut feature film of Bafta-Award nominated director Jamie Jay Johnson. It follows the lives of the participants of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2007, specifically the entrants from Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus and Georgia. The film sees them proceed from the national finals that saw them crowned the representatives of their country through to the international song festival itself held in Rotterdam, the Netherlands where they each compete against 16 other acts.

Caravana(es)

Parents -- Who Needs Them?(en)

Jimmy learns to appreciate his parents when a hand puppet dressed as a jester visits him up in the middle of the night and renders him invisible.

Growing Up in America(en)

Filmmaker Morley Markson shows Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin, Allen Ginsberg, Timothy Leary, and other '60s rebels, then and now in a follow up to his 1971 film "Breathing Together: Revolution of the Electric Family."

A Place of Our Own(it)