9th edition of IndieJúnior Porto reflects on Community, Sharing and Empathy
IndieJúnior Porto (IJP) returns to seven partner venues in the city to showcase the best in children’s and young people’s cinema.
The 9th edition takes place between January 27th and February 2nd at Batalha Cinema Center, at Casa Comum Rectory of the University of Porto, at Maus Hábitos, at the Almeida Garrett Municipal Library, at Coliseu Porto Ageas, at Museu Nacional Soares dos Reis and Biodiversity Gallery.
There will be seven intense days during which a total of 57 films will be shown – of the films in competition, 44 are shorts and 10 are Portuguese films. The 2025 edition aims to be a celebration of the Community through the transformative power of cinema, “to open a window of positive light to build a better world, with more empathy”. This is the central theme of the IJP, a theme reflected in this year’s poster by illustrator and animator, Alexandra Allen.
IndieJúnior Porto 2025 will reflect on pressing issues such as migration, wars, and the challenges of childhood and youth with positive, alternative and empathetic views that aim to highlight the spirit of mutual aid and the power of the collective. It will be a creative and transformative way of celebrating movie theatres as true spaces for sharing, reflection and different intersections of stories and cultures. Something that IJP has accustomed us to since its inception, is the full experience with the target audience: babies, children and young people.
In the Short Film Community I and II sessions, you will be able to see films that portray themes of family, territory and emigration, such as “Percebes” by Laura Gonçalves and Alexandra Ramires, “Tudo Boas Massas” by David Sick or “Uma Guitarra à Deriva” by Sophie Roze. These and other short films compete for two IJP awards, namely: Audience Award, chosen by the entire audience that attends the festival through voting at the end of the sessions; the Impact Award, offered by the Rectory of the University of Porto and which aims to reward a film for its thematic importance, aesthetic care and creativity. It is worth noting that the APEI Award (Association of Early Childhood Education Professionals) is a new feature this year, and is the result of a relevant partnership with the festival that will allow us to highlight a film from the competition aimed at early childhood, between 3 and 6 years old. The Short Film competitions are divided into family and school sessions – for preschool audiences, for the 1st, 2nd and 3rd cycles and short films for secondary education.
In addition to the usual sessions for school audiences, including the sessions of the educational project I Program a Film Festival (supported by ICA, PNA, PNC, IPCA and EPCJC), school audiences will have the opportunity to debate and watch films chosen and programmed by young people from the four classes coming from Maia, Porto, Vila Nova de Gaia and Matosinhos.
There is also the cozy, exploratory and multisensory Cinema de Colo in the Novo Ático room, at Coliseu do Porto, for little ones and their guardians.
The section My First Film will explore a timeless classic, “The Wizard of Oz”, a work by Victor Fleming chosen by the Vice-Rector of the University of Porto, Fátima Vieira, about this tale of courage and unlikely friendship.
Among the new features at IndieJúnior Porto 2025, the premiere of the feature film “Gato Fantasma Anzu” by Yoko Kuno and Nobuhiro Yamashita also stands out. Straight from the Cannes Film Festival, this Franco-Japanese co-production promises to win over fans of Studio Ghibli’s work with the story of Karin and Anzu, the ghost cat who takes care of an 11-year-old girl abandoned by her father. Also noteworthy is the first collaboration this year with the Porto Femme Festival in Maus Hábitos, with a very special short film session that seeks to counter the underrepresentation of women in cinema. Various dimensions of the path of growth and life will be addressed in a feminine atmosphere that promises to create reflection among the public and guests. The starting point will be the screening of the films “Acrobatics” by Anna Kuzina; “Rules of the Game” by Christian Zetterberg; “Moon Lake” by Jeannie Sui Wonders and “We Can Make a Movie” by Tota Alves.
There is also space for creative workshops with proposals for families and schools with IJP partners – the Biodiversity Gallery of the University of Porto, the Soares dos Reis National Museum and Vila Maria Alice – Clinical Psychology and Therapies.
Another great new feature of this year’s edition of the Festival will be the debate Identity, Rules and Conventions, with a panel of guests and the classes present at this Cultural Backpack organized with the PNA, right after the screening of the film “Rules of the Game” by Christian Zetterberg.
In parallel activities, there will be a Masterclass on an RTP series for Children, the 7 Caixas project, at the Soares dos Reis Artistic School. There will also be space for an open conversation-debate on Financing Films for Children, with the support of the Creative Europe Information Center in Portugal and a Meeting on Community-Made Films, where three Portuguese film projects made in different contexts, in the national territory, will be discussed. This will be a special moment of meeting and debate at the Rectory of the University of Porto, Casa Comum. The idea comes from a question – “What happens when we come together to make a film?” Based on this possibility, the Festival invited an internationally recognized animation production company (BAP), an association that makes films in school and social contexts (ANILUPA) and a director who involved a neighbourhood in the creation of a film (Tota Alves). After the screening of the films “Percebes” (Alexandra Ramires and Laura Gonçalves), “The Colors of the Ocean” (Porto Toy Library Association and students from EB de São João) and “We Can Make a Film” (Tota Alves) the theme will be for a conversation about films made in community contexts and that promote social, cultural and artistic development.
De destacar ainda, e como não poderia deixar de acontecer, o último dia do IJP que recebe o habitual Cineconcerto – Comunidades que contará com a criadora multi-instrumentalista Inês Lapa. A sessão começa com o filme “Cuidado, as Portas Vão Abrir!” de Anastasiya Zhuravleva onde mergulhamos num dia agitado no metro de bolso; passamos depois para a aventura de um cão Poodle em “Apanha a Salsicha” de Alice Guy-Blaché. O terceiro filme é de Walt Disney e ganhou destaque com esta versão inicial de “O País das Maravilhas da Alice” da Walt Disney e terminará, de uma forma hilariante, com “Les Kiriki, acrobates japonais”, de Segundo de Chomón.
Antes do festival, acontece a sessão de aquecimento para crianças a partir dos 3 anos, com filmes escolhidos a dedo e sobre comunidades, o Warm Up está agendado na Casa Comum da Reitoria da Universidade do Porto, no dia 18 de Janeiro, pelas 16 horas e é de entrada livre.
Always confirm with the concert hall or promoter the conditions of access, confirmation of the date or time, ticket place of sale, price, and availability.
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