About festival

JUNIORFEST is a Film Festival for Children and Young Audience that has been held regularly in the Pilsen Region since 2008. It is a competitive festival focusing not only on fiction and animated film production but - as of 2017 - also on documentary production and, since 2022, on TV series in non-competitive sections.

The festival always offers a seven-day marathon of film screenings that popularize the still-neglected genre of children's film in the Czech Republic and reflect the latest trends in children's cinematography. The festival's uniqueness is demonstrated by the number of venues it is held: in Pilsen, Klatovy, Horšovský Týn, Dobřany, Domažlice and Přeštice. The festival offers more than 100 film screenings, 20 practical workshops and creative sessions, along with a dozen other accompanying events, and is attended by over 17,000 visitors annually.

Since its beginning, the festival has also been focused on providing year-round educational events for elementary and high school students. As of 2017, it has also introduced a comprehensive industry program for film professionals, which is always held regularly during the festival days. JUNIORFEST offers not only screenings of Czech and European film productions but also develops various possibilities of film education through unique accompanying activities that encourage active involvement of children and professionals. These include, for example, thematic workshops, retrospectives and meetings with exceptional film-makers.

JUNIORFEST did not shy away from the coronavirus pandemic and took the situation as a challenge. In 2020, it introduced the JUNIORFEST live and JUNIORFEST online concepts to its audience. First, through daily two-hour live broadcasts from the Pilsen Creative Zone DEPO2015, viewers were offered moderated interviews, competitions, animated series, and workshops. Subsequently, in collaboration with Dafilms.cz, 15 films were presented, each accompanied by educational materials for students and teachers. The project was highly successful, as an incredible 8,000 visitors registered within ten days. In 2021, the JUNIORFEST online project was repeated with a smaller selection of films, as shortly before another wave of the pandemic, the 14th edition of the festival was successfully held in the traditional five towns.

This year, you can look forward not only to another JUNIORFEST online but especially to the 17th edition of JUNIORFEST 2024, which takes place from November 8-13, 2024, in Domažlice, Pilsen, Klatovy, Dobřany, Horšovský Týn, and Přeštice.

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