“Fest of Fests” A youth cinema network for the development of screen wise viewers
“Fest of Fests” aspires to engage the essential European and international children and youth film festivals and festival networks, national and transnational organizations actively supporting film literacy and filmmaking by youngsters, the academic community and key national and public institutions which are either involved or have a stake in coordinating media and film literacy initiatives in their respective countries. The upper goal of “Fest of Fests” is the development of a critical and media informed viewer through existing and new pathways of film, media and digital literacy.
To this effect, the “Fest of Fests” will develop two main outputs. The first is an online community of practice, which will have the structure of a social network and will be supported by a platform designed and developed specifically for the purposes of the project. The platform will enable networking, online collaboration and synergies between the members of the community, but will also effectively map the workshops, initiatives and projects run by the various youth film festivals and relevant educational organizations and specializing on the development of the young viewers’ critical visual literacy.
In acting as a forum for film and media education initiatives, exchange of practices and innovative ideas among the relevant stakeholders, the platform may serve both, as a cultural indicator for measuring national and international levels of media literacy, as well as reporting on audience-centric initiatives and education implemented by the youth film festivals and other organizations. Such indicators are essential in the global cultural and creative sector, being key constituents for a media and information literacy dynamics for all.
The second output of the Fest of Fests project will be annual meetings between the community members and stakeholders, including experts and educators, festivals and public institutions, as well as academics.
The “Fest of Fests” launching Forum is set for June 25-28, 2018. A number of world-renowned experts and leading organizations have confirmed their participation. Comprising screenings, presentations and round-table discussions, the Forum will bring together key stakeholders to exchange their views and experiences in working with their younger audience and educate youngsters in monitoring and critical viewing of film production and image-based situations in general. They will also explore the new possibilities offered by social networking methodologies for taking the next step towards the creation of media-informed viewers.
