Young European Cinephiles

EVERY YEAR LUCAS INVITES YOUNG PEOPLE FROM EUROPE TO BE »YECs« AND EXPRESS THEIR VISION OF CINEMA. This year, six young peo­p­le from Slovenia, Kosovo and Germany will pre­sent their own sel­ec­tion of films on the the­me of “iden­ti­ty” to the LUCAS audi­ence and look for­ward to an open exch­an­ge in the cine­ma hall.

In times of incre­asing poli­ti­cal bor­der demar­ca­ti­ons and social divi­si­on, ques­ti­ons of iden­ti­ty are nego­tia­ted at the core. Film as a nar­ra­ti­ve form pro­vi­des exci­ting insights into iden­ti­ty-rela­ted issues, whe­ther on a per­so­nal level in the sen­se of self-dis­co­very or in a coll­ec­ti­ve inter­pre­ta­ti­on as a jux­ta­po­si­ti­on of two incom­pa­ti­ble ways of life. Personal social dra­mas, popu­lar bio­pics as well as opu­lent gen­re works are often about the for­ma­ti­on of a self-con­fi­dent iden­ti­ty along­side a sen­se of belonging.

“As a medi­um, film has a tre­men­dous power to inti­m­ate­ly por­tray a per­son, their fee­lings and their situa­ti­on,” says Tatjana from Ljubljana.

This year’s group of »Young European Cinephiles« have been working on dif­fe­rent rea­dings of iden­ti­ty sin­ce spring in inten­si­ve online work­shops, with the aim of pre­sen­ting their cura­ted film series during the fes­ti­val week. The focus is on the­mes and works that reflect the rea­li­ties of the group’s lives. One focus is the per­so­nal search for iden­ti­ty and the asso­cia­ted fear of losing access to ones­elf. According to Lea from Pristina, Kosovo, this is espe­ci­al­ly evi­dent in cha­rac­ters who lack some­thing, who stri­ve for a “sen­se of com­fort in your indi­vi­dua­li­ty”. “Questioning our­sel­ves is a pro­cess that is taking place throug­hout our enti­re life” adds Zala from Kamnik, Slovenia. Furthermore, the group would like to dis­cuss with the audi­ence the social pres­su­re regar­ding beau­ty ide­als, gen­der iden­ti­ty and sexu­al ori­en­ta­ti­on. “Identity is a very broad topic, but most times it comes down to under­stan­ding and accep­ting yours­elf, as well as get­ting accept­ed, for who you are and what you want in life,” sums up Yara from Neumünster, Germany. The »YECs« stand up for tole­rance with the fol­lo­wing pro­gram­me. Can you iden­ti­fy with it?

For the film sel­ec­tion of the »Young European Cinephiles« and tickets for the scree­nings, click here: