Freedom is passing through here!
Freedom is the central theme of the 8th edition of IndieJunior Porto. A festival that fills the city’s cinemas with kids and adults and brings the most incredible cinema to this special audience. In 2024, IndieJunior will take place between 22 and 28 January, in various venues around the city, once again offering a vast programme of films, workshops and other activities aimed at children, young people, teachers, families and the general public.
For this eighth edition, we invited illustrator Mafalda Salgueiro to develop the visual identity, inspired by her freedom as a child and the freedom she felt when she heard “A seagull flew, flew, wings of wind, heart of sea. Like her, we are free, we are free to fly” (“Somos Livres” by Ermelinda Duarte).
Within the framework of this year’s theme – Freedom, we are presenting the Freedom Focus, consisting of three short film sessions and a feature film, where we will, on the one hand, explore the idea of freedom in a broad sense, proposing international films that relate to this concept and, on the other, associate ourselves with the commemorations of the 50th anniversary of the 25th of April. We are celebrating this landmark date in order to stimulate reflection on the role of cinema in our collective memory and in new generations. In addition to the films, we will be holding meetings with directors, mediated sessions and educational and artistic activities around Portuguese cinema, in the Cinema and Freedom programme. This programme is being held with the support of the National Film Plan, Cinemateca Júnior and the FILMar project, operated by Cinemateca Portuguesa – Cinema Museum, and with the support of the EEAGrants 2020-2024 programme. Because of its specific nature, cinema is a privileged medium for looking at the past and questioning the present, recalling what mobilised the builders of democracy and raising questions about the challenges of the present.
This year we’re travelling through the memories of Wandson Lisboa in our My First Film section. Wandson is a designer, presenter and instagrammer who has made Porto his own since 2010. He will be presenting the film Toy Story and explaining why this title marked his childhood. Babies will also be able to remember the first images projected at Baby Cinema, in a custom-made set to see and feel. Eating and watching hand-picked short films for young adults is what Cinema at the Table has in store for us at Maus Hábitos. Workshops and an Exhibition, this year’s highlights being the workshops on freedom, cinema and psychology and the AprilApril exhibition by OSMOPE students. On the last day of the festival, a Film-Concert with the participation of the artist duo O Som do Algodão, who will experiment with new ways of sharing the plasticity of the word and the sonic exploration of images – Sons da Liberdade marks the closing of this 8th edition.
There’s even more news that won’t fit on this page. But first, on 13 January, IndieJunior Porto awaits you for a Warm Up session at Casa Comum, in the rectory of the University of Porto. The ideal warm-up for seven days of cinema and various activities for families and schools.
We’ve reached this eighth edition with new films, renewed partnerships and many young programme-makers. This year’s competition includes the largest number of films ever, including fiction, documentaries and animations. As in previous editions, some of these films were chosen by children and young people aged 6 to 18 from four schools in the Porto metropolitan area, as part of the Eu Programo um Festival de Cinema initiative organised in partnership with the National Arts Plan. The participating schools are: Escola Básica de 1.º CEB / JI N.Sra.Campanha, Escola Básica Dr Costa Matos, Escola Secundária de Fontes Pereira de Melo, Escola Secundária da Boa Nova and with the support of IPCA and EPCJC. In addition to the official jury, there will also be a jury made up of researchers from the University of Porto and secondary school students, who will award the Impact Prize from the Rectory of the University of Porto.
From 22 to 28 January, our annual meeting will take place at the Batalha Cinema Centre, Almeida Garrett Municipal Library, Casa das Artes, Coliseu Porto Ageas, Maus Hábitos and the Rectory of the University of Porto.
Let’s celebrate freedom!