Youth 4 German Cinema
We are excited to be welcoming this year's jurors in San Francisco very soon!
Youth 4 German Cinema, now in its 12th year, is an educational initiative of Step into German and the Berlin & Beyond Film Festival, connecting middle school and high school aged students with contemporary German films and filmmakers. Youth 4 German Cinema has brought youth jury members from across the US, Canada, Mexico, and Central America to the festival, and through the years has shown films to over 6,000 visiting students.
This year’s Youth 4 German Cinema jury members are:
Leander Coskun, Canada
Jessica Han, USA
Juan Andrés Roman Morales, Guatemala
Ana Sofia de la Puente Serrano, México
The Youth 4 German Cinema jury chose Soleen Yusef’s Winners as the 2025 winning film.
Jury Statement: “Winners passionately tells a timely, politically and societally important story. It is special for us as younger viewers – what happens in the film could just as well take place in one of our schoolyards. We can deeply relate with the characters on a cognitive and emotional level. Meanwhile, the uniqueness and realness of the characters’ personalities and struggles as well as the delicious twists and turns of the story makes it stay fresh. The already incredible story is conveyed through innovative and interesting techniques of cinematography and the precise and thoughtful use of film music.”
Please note: Two very special screenings of Winners will take place on Friday, March 28th 2025. For inquiries, please email: stepintogerman-sanfrancisco@goethe.de
Participants will form the Youth 4 German Cinema jury. They will screen selected German films online (with English subtitles), engage in discussions, and choose one film to be shown at the festival.
As Part of the Film Festival Experience:
Participants will:
- Present the Youth 4 German Cinema Awards and play an active role in an onstage Q&A with talents from the winning films.
- Walk the red carpet and go behind-the-scenes of North America’s largest festival of contemporary German cinema.
- Attend an exclusive workshop by a film arts professional.
- Visit one of the world’s most exciting cities: San Francisco!
Important Dates:
- Deadline for Application: February 1, 2025 at 8:00 PM (Pacific Standard Time)
- Participants Announced: February 7, 2025
- Screening Period of Films: February 7-13, 2025
- Winning Film Announced: February 14, 2025
- Stay in San Francisco: March 27-30, 2025
Travel & Accommodation:
A very exclusive and grand opportunity: Each participant will be provided roundtrip airfare to San Francisco, accommodation and food.
Youth 4 German Cinema
Youth 4 German Cinema takes high-school students backstage for a glimpse into the workings of the international film festival Berlin & Beyond. In doing so, students are introduced to the German language cinema landscape and learn about filmmaking, film criticism and international films as a whole.Chosen from a pool of applications from across the US, Canada, Central America and the Caribbean, Youth 4 German Cinema allows select high-school students to participate in and to go behind the scenes of an international film festival; to meet industry professionals; to participate in artistic workshops; and to increase their cross-cultural awareness. Finally, they also help select the two winning films which are screened at the festival for hundreds of visiting students from across the San Francisco Bay Area and Northern California.