Goldener Spatz: Children's and Media Festival Opens in Gera with Swiss Premiere

Themes of Participation and Role Models

Festival director Elisabeth Wenk told MDR KULTUR that the festival's fundamental question is: "Wie können wir Kinder befähigen, an der Gesellschaft teilzuhaben?" Many films enable children to learn "miteinander zu sprechen, aufeinander zu hören, im Austausch zu stehen, um die Welt vielleicht ein bisschen besser zu machen – ein bisschen fairer für Kinder zu machen". In doing so, she picked up on this year's guiding themes of participation and role models for children.

From the record number of 250 submissions, the festival directors selected 37 entries for the "Film & Series" competition as well as six digital media offerings for the "Interactive & Digital Storytelling" competition. The programme also includes computer games as well as augmented and virtual reality formats. Documentaries, short films for different age groups, and series episodes are also part of the offering.

Competitions and Highlights

The animated adventure "Alles voller Monster" and the coming-of-age story "Heute heißen alle Sorry" are considered programme highlights. Among the competition films is also "Gropius Supernova" by Erfurt-based director Ben Voit, which had its premiere at the Max Ophüls Film Festival and is set in Neukölln. The film "Koschka" tells of responsibility in the friendship between a boy and a cat.

A children's jury of 28 boys and girls aged 9 to 13 from Germany and neighbouring countries will decide on the awards. The award ceremony is planned for 12 June at 4 pm in Hall 6 of the Zughafen Kulturbahnhofs Erfurt. The trophies, glass sparrows, will be awarded in both competitions.

Children's Jury and Award Ceremony

In the retrospective, which shows winning films from past decades, "Wer küsst schon einen Leguan?" can be rediscovered after 20 years. It was the first Goldener Spatz for the now well-known actor Frederick Lau, who is expected as a guest this year. The festival, which first took place in Gera in 1979, now returns to the city with its 34th edition and is regarded, according to the Kindermedienstiftung, as one of the most important platforms for children's media in the German-speaking world.

Supporting Programme in Gera and Erfurt

Until Tuesday, 9 June inclusive, the festival is a guest in Gera, after which it moves to Erfurt. There, from 10 to 12 June, the Goldener Spatz professional forum will also take place, an industry meeting for German-language children's media. Wenk described it as the festival's concern to "immer da zu sein, wo auch Medien für Kinder gemacht werden, egal auf welcher Plattform". In the German-speaking world, she said, there is a lack of such forums for children's media, and the festival wants to close this gap more strongly in the future.

In parallel, the Pop-Up Media Workshop offers hands-on formats for children and young people from 7 to 9 June in Gera. The programme also includes screenings for kindergartens, school classes, groups, and families. According to the organisers, the festival attracts several thousand visitors each year, including around 500 industry representatives as well as guests from politics, business, and culture.