FesticineKids is the annual film festival for children and young people in Cartagena, Colombia. This year, the festival reaches is in its 23rd edition and is being presented in a hybrid fashion for young film lovers in Colombia and abroad.

 

FesticineKids, like many festivals around the world, has suffered in the aftermath of the COVID-19, and is mixing virtual and in-person events to protect its audience. 

 

"We have not stopped. During quarantine, we did all our activities virtually, and now that it is allowed to do face-to-face events in open places, we did not hesitate to do it because we missed the feeling of being in front of a screen like in the cinema and so did the children," Gerardo Nieto, director of the FesticineKids Foundation, told AL DÍA News. 

 

The film festival is just one of the activities developed by the FesticineKids Foundation with the objective of transforming children through filmmaking, as it also carries out film appreciation workshops with young people in the region.  

 

Over the last few months, 25 children from municipalities near Cartagena were trained to be part of the Kids Jury, a group that evaluates the festival's films and is also responsible for announcing the winners in each of the categories. 

On Tuesday, Sept. 21, FesticineKids opened its doors in Cartagena with the screening of the Colombian film, Angel de mi vida, directed by Yuldor Gutierrez. 

 

In addition, the event was attended by Santiago Molina, the actor who plays the role of Alvaro in the film and is also the composer of the film's original music. 

 

Nearly 100 people were able to participate in the activity as the festival kicked off other screenings that will be broadcast for free through the FestHome platform.

Every day, there is a new film available to the public. 

 

The short film categories such as Colombian Shorts, U-Lab and official short film competition will be available every day of the festival free of charge. 

 

The feature films will be screened virtually on the following dates:  

 

Wednesday, Sept. 22- Heart of Mezquite (Mexico). 

 

Thursday, Sept. 23- Pota (Turkey) 

 

Friday, Sept. 24- El niño de los mandados (Colombia) 

 

Saturday, Sept. 25- Elulu (Chile) 

 

Sunday, Sept. 26- Movie Weekend. All films will be available on the website on this day.