Our Visit to TeenFest – the International Children and Youth Film Festival in Prague, Czech Republic
This past weekend, team members from Sparks Film School were thrilled to attend the #TeenFest debut film festival in the Czech Republic.
We were proud to share a film made by Sparks movie makers over the summer, which had been chosen for inclusion by the festival panel.
Teen Film Festival showcased films from across the world, each made by young filmmakers, from age 8 through to 21. Entrants ranged from across Europe to South Korea, Australia and Canada.
Sparks Film School Founder Dan Farrell and Creative Consultant Sheena Holliday were there at the festival to represent some of the Sparks filmmakers involved in the production ‘Soap’, which was shown alongside other films made by 13-18 year olds.
As well as celebrating all the incredible work by the talented young filmmakers, they also enjoyed learning about the film festival and film in the city of Prague. They tried out some of the local delicacies and explored the beautiful city, soaking up as much of the festival atmosphere as possible.
It was so inspiring to watch so many films made by young and talented filmmakers. There were some truly brilliant films. It was a pleasure to watch all the talent and flair on show and to be a part of such a fun event.
The festival was directed by Zuzana Dražilová, who led a brilliant team of young comperes and hosts. We were so impressed to see these Czech teenagers deliver the entire event in two languages! It was a very inspiring event to be a part of.
Sparks Film School Founder and Director Dan commented, “I was really blown away by the quality of the films we saw, and so proud to present ‘Soap’ amongst so many other brilliant short films. We see lots of amazing collaborations on the horizon and look forward to working with some of our international film education colleagues soon!”
Soap – A Production by Studio 5, Sparks Film School Hampstead
Soap is a brilliant film made by our Studio 5 crew from Sparks Film School in Hampstead in July 2019. It was devised, produced and edited in just five days by crew members aged 14-18.
The film is a surrealist journey through dream-like impossibilities. It’s an original film idea inspired by our 2019 Summer Shoots theme: The Stuff of Dream and Nightmares. The film’s slick editing style caught the attention of programmers at the film festival. We also love its fun visual wipes and graphic match cuts.
You can watch Soap below:
We’re so proud of the filmmakers involved, who we know worked incredibly hard on this production. The film looked great up on the big screen and was a testimony to their filmmaking talents and creativity amongst so many other productions. We were so excited that the film was chosen and recognised by the festival, and delighted to be there to celebrate the work with lots of other film educators and young filmmakers.
As a result of the film festival, we’ve come away with lots of new ideas and also some fantastic international relationships with other young film schools and festivals, so watch this space. We’re sure some more incredible filmmaking will come out of this experience!
More from Film Festivals
Sparks Film School filmmakers have enjoyed lots of success at local and international film festivals.
Find out more about some recent selections and awards at festivals…
