1. Children's Film Festival in Bernau: A festival for young film discoveries!

<ol> <li>Children's Film Festival in Bernau: A festival for young film discoveries!</li> </ol>

The 26th Children's Film Festival is currently taking place in Bernau and will take place on October 7, 2025 under the motto "That's me. Who are you?" was ceremoniously opened. The event has become a popular meeting place for young cineastes over the years and runs until October 17th. The official starting signal was given by Dr. Mathias Iffert, the director of LIBRA, and Clemens Pfütz, the deputy mayor. The aim of the festival is to promote film and cultural education in schools in the region.

The opening film “Being a Winner” (2024) deals with important topics such as prejudices against refugees and a sense of community. The actor Andreas Döhler, who plays a teacher in the film, was also present and exchanged ideas with the audience as part of a film discussion. After the film screenings, follow-up discussions and group work with youth supporters and school social workers are planned, which are intended to help children and young people reflect on their experiences.

Diverse range of films

Registration for the film festival events takes place via the cultural office and the youth coordination. A particular focus is on school classes from the region. In 2025, 2,600 children and young people attended the popular classic festival, which is considered the most popular venue in the region.

Insights into film education

In the run-up to the festival, over 2,000 registrations had been received from Bernau schools, which underlines the great popularity and high status of the festival. Age-appropriate films that are emotional and full of conflict provide children and young people with a valuable educational resource. Thematically, the films often deal with topics that affect many young people: pressure to perform, bullying, friendship, jealousy and family.

To ensure that the content has a lasting impact, there are moderated room discussions, group work and interactive elements after the demonstrations. For the younger visitors, individual activities involving movement, painting and crafts are used. Many schools also integrate the films into their lessons, which supports cultural education. Students from Bernau also write film reviews for each film in the program, which can be viewed in the town hall and on the city of Bernau website.

An exciting feature of the festival is the youth jury, which awards the youth film of the year. This consists of students from Bernau and Wandlitz aged 13 to 16 who are involved in the selection together with the German director Bernd Sahling.

The children's film festival has established itself as an institution over the years and makes a significant contribution to the cultural education of young people in Bernau and beyond. Whether with an exciting film or an interactive follow-up – great importance is placed on an all-round positive and educational experience. Further information and current updates can be found on the festival website.