LUCAS – International Festival for Young Film Lovers 
#48 from September 25 until Oktober 2, 2025

Lights, came­ra, and action at LUCAS #48: from September 25 to October 2, 2025, Germany’s oldest film fes­ti­val for young audi­en­ces will pre­sent award-win­ning cine­ma­tic art for ever­yo­ne from ages three to 18+. Families and film enthu­si­asts of all ages can look for­ward to excep­tio­nal cine­ma­tic expe­ri­en­ces in Frankfurt and Offenbach.

The defi­ning fea­ture of LUCAS are the com­pe­ti­ti­ons in the »Kids«, »Teens«, and »Youngsters« sec­tions. In addi­ti­on to the com­pe­ti­ti­on pro­gram, the fes­ti­val shows clas­sics from film histo­ry, short films for the very youn­gest, and other pro­grams, some of which are desi­gned by child­ren and young peo­p­le. During the fes­ti­val week, the­re is a spe­cial focus on film dis­cus­sions, in which film­ma­kers from all over the world enga­ge in dia­lo­gue with the audience.

At LUCAS, par­ti­ci­pa­ti­on means »Mitmischen!«. Young peo­p­le are invi­ted to help shape the fes­ti­val in a varie­ty of ways, such as ful­fil­ling the role of a jury mem­ber, film cri­tic, fes­ti­val repor­ter, or curator.

Representatives of the film indus­try will have the oppor­tu­ni­ty to attend con­fe­ren­ces and panel dis­cus­sions that address topics rela­ted to film edu­ca­ti­on and cur­rent trends in child­ren’s and youth film production.

LUCAS – International Festival for Young Film Lovers is orga­ni­zed by the DFF – Deutsches Filminstitut & Filmmuseum e.V.

Banner: Journal Frankfurt
LUCAS separation

Competitions and Awards

Competitions

In the »Kids«, »Teens«, and »Youngsters« com­pe­ti­ti­ons, LUCAS pres­ents out­stan­ding inter­na­tio­nal sel­ec­tions of fea­ture films, docu­men­ta­ries, ani­ma­ted films, and expe­ri­men­tal films. In 2025, 21 fea­ture films and 18 short films will com­pe­te for the cove­ted LUCAS awards.

Feature films must have a run­ning time of more than 59 minu­tes and must not have been released in German cine­mas. A sel­ec­tion com­mit­tee attends fes­ti­vals and indus­try gathe­rings to choo­se com­pe­ti­ti­on ent­ries for the »Kids«, »Teens«, and »Youngsters« sec­tions from among the stron­gest pro­duc­tions world­wi­de. Premiere sta­tus is not a fac­tor, only qua­li­ty matters!

In recent years, LUCAS has ear­ned a spe­cial repu­ta­ti­on with its short film com­pe­ti­ti­on. A sel­ec­tion com­mit­tee puts tog­e­ther seve­ral com­pe­ti­ti­on pro­grams for the »Kids« and »Teens« sec­tions from the best inter­na­tio­nal sub­mis­si­ons with a run­ning time of up to 30 minu­tes. Many of the­se pro­grams are German premieres.

Awards

Competition »Kids«

  • Best Feature Film (5.000 €) dona­ted by the Sparkassen-Kulturstiftung Hessen-Thüringen
  • Best Short Film (2.000 €) 

Competition »Teens«

  • Best Feature Film (5,000 €)
  • Best Short Film (2,000 €) 
  • Award for an Outstanding Cinematic Achievement (2,000 €) 

Competition »Youngsters«

  • LUCAS »Youngsters« Award (5.000 €) 

All competition sections

  • ECFA-Award 
  • Bridging the Borders Award 
  • Audience Award
LUCAS separation

Selection Committee 2025

In order to impro­ve LUCAS’s net­wor­king and enhan­ce lively dis­cus­sion about the pro­gram, the fes­ti­val has appoin­ted a sel­ec­tion com­mit­tee for fea­ture films and ano­ther for short films, which will view the films and sel­ect ent­ries for the »Kids«, »Teens«, and »Youngsters« com­pe­ti­ti­ons. In addi­ti­on to Julia Fleißig, the fes­ti­val direc­tor of LUCAS, the com­mit­tees are made up of five other renow­ned film experts.

Selection Committee Feature Film 
Kirsten Taylor

Kirsten Taylor
Editor, film edu­ca­tor, and author

Kirsten Taylor is an edi­tor at the film edu­ca­ti­on por­tal kinofenster.de and a free­lan­ce film edu­ca­tor, working for pro­jects such as “Filmklassiker sehen – Filme ver­ste­hen,” which was initia­ted by the German Film Academy. Additionally, she is working for SchulKinoWochen. She also wri­tes film reviews and pre­pa­res film reports. One focus of her work is child­ren’s and youth films.

Stefan Stiletto

Stefan Stiletto
Film edu­ca­tor and film journalist

Stefan Stiletto is a free­lan­ce film edu­ca­tor, film jour­na­list, and edi­tor. He designs and crea­tes accom­pany­ing mate­ri­als for film edu­ca­ti­on and is a wri­ter for Filmdienst, Kinderfilmwelt, Kinder- und Jugend-Filmportal, Kinofenster.de, and other publi­ca­ti­ons. He also leads trai­ning cour­ses for edu­ca­tors and work­shops for child­ren and young adults on various film edu­ca­ti­on topics.

rochus-wolff_credit_Katrin-Doerksen

Rochus Wolff
Film cri­tic, aut­hor, and lecturer

Rochus Wolff is a free­lan­ce film cri­tic and aut­hor who publishes in Kino-Zeit, Filmdienst, Kinderfilmwelt, and on the child­ren’s and youth film por­tal, among others. Wolff has published two books on child­ren’s films: 33 Beste Kinderfilme (33 Best Children’s Films) and 100 Kinderfilme für alle Tage (100 Children’s Films for Every Day). He also gives work­shops on child­ren’s films and film criticism.

Short Film Selection Committee 
Holger Twele

Holger Twele
Journalist and film educator

Holger Twele is a free­lan­ce film jour­na­list and film edu­ca­tor and has been working for many years with orga­niza­ti­ons such as the Federal Association for Youth and Film, the German Children’s and Youth Film Center, and the Federal Agency for Civic Education.

Dr. Ursula Vossen

Dr. Ursula Vossen
Producer and aut­hor / HessenInvestFilm

Dr. Ursula Vossen is an expe­ri­en­ced tele­vi­si­on and film pro­du­cer and film fun­der. She is the aut­hor of num­e­rous books and artic­les on film studies.

LUCAS separation

Jury 2025

The juries for the »Kids« and »Teens« com­pe­ti­ti­ons con­sist of equal num­bers of young film fans and indus­try pro­fes­sio­nals. They deci­de on the win­ners of five LUCAS awards in the »Kids« and »Teens« com­pe­ti­ti­ons. A jury of young European film enthu­si­asts will honor the LUCAS »Youngsters« Award to a film in the »Youngsters« section.

A jury from the ECFA pres­ents the ECFA Award to its favo­ri­te European child­ren’s film. Since 2018, Cinema Without Borders has award­ed a pri­ze to a com­pe­ti­ti­on film, with the audi­ence award deci­ded by fes­ti­val visitors.

Jury Competition »Kids«

Daniel Fornoff ©Oliver Leicht | Quelle: DFF

Daniel Fornoff (12)
IGS Nordend, Frankfurt

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Daniel has alre­a­dy acqui­red expe­ri­ence as a Jury mem­ber of the German Film Festival “Goldener Spatz.” What makes a tru­ly bril­li­ant film? A film that is so cap­ti­vat­ing that he will quick­ly for­get about the ice cream com­mer­cial. Daniel is not par­ti­cu­lar­ly fond of mathe­ma­tics; howe­ver, he is an excep­tio­nal drum­mer, and he even has exch­an­ged emails with the aut­hor of Sams, Paul Maar. He loves short and sweet comedies—SPATZENHIRN is his top pick. In fact, he expe­ri­men­ted with making his own short films. Favorite film cha­rac­ters? Garfield, Bud Spencer, and the chao­tic duo Lilo & Stitch! 

Olivia Schiffer ©Oliver Leicht | Quelle: DFF

Merle Sturm (11)
Adorno-Gymnasium, Frankfurt

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Merle has been play­ing rug­by sin­ce the age of three pro­ba­b­ly Frankfurt’s youn­gest tack­ler! She is equal­ly fond of the thrill on the pitch as well as on the big screen. Crime films like ENOLA HOLMES or THE THREE INVESTIGATORS are among her favo­ri­tes. She would rather have a sur­pri­se ending than a hap­py one. Merle is eager­ly awai­ting the forth­co­ming pre­mie­re of the new HARRY POTTER series. By the way, she is the best at hiding¾even wit­hout her invi­si­bi­li­ty cloak. There is usual­ly only one thing that helps to get her out of her hiding spot: Green Sauce! 

Daniel Fornoff ©Oliver Leicht | Quelle: DFF

Olivia Schiffer (12)
KGS Niederrad, Frankfurt

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Olivia is unstoppable: she does gym­nastics, plays field hockey, rides hor­ses, and assists with the youth fire depart­ment. DER SCHUH DES MANITU makes her laugh. Her favo­ri­te actors are Katharina Thalbach, Susu Padotzke and Christian Tramlitz. She would love to see them star in a roman­tic movie, so who of you out the­re is wri­ting the script? When she is not clim­bing moun­ta­ins, she dreams of living in the coun­try and Canadian movie adven­tures at LUCAS.  

Anna Hofmann

Anna Hofmann (Austria)
Co-Director of the Vienna International Children’s Film Festival

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Anna Hofmann, who has been invol­ved with the Vienna International Children’s Film Festival for over 20 years, has been one of its direc­tors sin­ce 2024. She is dedi­ca­ted to not only pre­sen­ting excep­tio­nal films for child­ren and ado­le­s­cents but also to pro­mo­ting the medi­um of film in gene­ral. She accom­plishes this by co-orga­­ni­­zing “Kinderkinowelten,” a film edu­ca­ti­on initia­ti­ve that screens and fol­lows up on spe­cial child­ren’s films in Austrian schools.  

Heiko Martens ©Heiko Martens | Quelle: DFF

Heiko Martens (Germany)
Author and dramaturge

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Heiko Martens is a gra­dua­ted free­lan­ce screen­wri­ter and dra­ma­tur­ge. He wri­tes films, series, and radio dra­mas for adults, young peo­p­le, and child­ren of all ages. As a dra­ma­tur­ge and lec­tu­rer, he has work­ed at the Film University Potsdam and the Master School Drehbuch Berlin. Besides, he has work­ed for eight years for the Academy for Children’s Media. At the Academy, he was a co-men­­tor for inter­ac­ti­ve and cross-media pro­jects, as well as for child­ren’s books. Additionally, he was also a men­tor for the fea­ture film group. 

Justine Bauer ©Semih Korhan Güner | Quelle: DFF

Justine Bauer (Germany)
Director and screenwriter

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Justine Bauer grew up on an ost­rich farm in Germany. She stu­di­ed fine arts at the HGB Leipzig and fea­ture film direc­ting and screen­wri­ting at the KHM Cologne. She was nomi­na­ted for the Wortmeldungen-Förderpreis and par­ti­ci­pa­ted in the Jürgen Ponto Writing Workshop. She has known LUCAS sin­ce last year, when her gra­dua­ti­on film MILCH INS FEUER was scree­ned at the »Teens« com­pe­ti­ti­on. The film has won seve­ral natio­nal and inter­na­tio­nal awards. Justine’s dog is cal­led Bruno.  

Jury Competition »Teens«

Manuela Polifke ©Oliver Leicht | Quelle: DFF

Nike Hennig (17)
Helmholtzschule, Frankfurt

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Nike loves to express hers­elf whe­ther on stage with her gui­tar or behind a pod­cast micro­pho­ne. This sum­mer, she went to Ireland to polish her English – with a litt­le Irish thrown in for mea­su­re, thanks to the movie KNEECAP! Her heart beats for musi­cals and ALMOST FAMOUS. Later, she wants to beco­me a jour­na­list. What makes a good movie? It must ent­ail atti­tu­de, gre­at acting, and atmo­sphe­re. She is new to the jury but a long-time regu­lar at the LUCAS film club. Ask her for musi­cal fun facts – Nike deli­vers! 

Liam Belgorodski ©Oliver Leicht | Quelle: DFF

Manuela Polifke (14)
Adorno-Gymnasium, Frankfurt

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Manuela plays soc­cer and dances hip-hop. She lis­tens to music, pre­fer­a­b­ly K‑pop and J‑pop, in every spa­re minu­te. She only takes off her head­pho­nes brief­ly at the cine­ma. Even the­re, the sound­track is important to her! She also pre­fers plots that are easy to fol­low. Manuela loves fun­ny heist movies like OCEAN’S 13 and can almost reci­te THE LIFE OF BRIAN by heart. She wis­hes for a second sea­son of PHANTOM SCHOOL and more movies about her musi­cal idols from Japan and South Korea! 

Merle Sturm ©Oliver Leicht | Quelle: DFF

Liam Belgorodski (17)
Lessing-Gymnasium, Frankfurt

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Liam has a knack for men­tal arith­me­tic and enjoys play­ing chess, Scrabble, and squash. AMÉLIE is one of his favo­ri­te films; much of it see­med fami­li­ar to him. As someone with Asperger’s syn­dro­me, he could rela­te to some of the beha­vi­ors depic­ted in the film. Liam likes uni­que, ori­gi­nal films and avo­ids remakes and film series that fol­low the same pat­terns. No won­der, then, that he is an avo­wed Wes Anderson fan. At LUCAS, he wants to take his first steps toward his dream job in the film indus­try. 

Quelle: DFF

Andrea Reisz (Rumania)
Film edu­ca­tor and cul­tu­ral manager

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Andrea Reisz is an expert in cul­tu­re, cine­ma, and film edu­ca­ti­on. She has spent years deve­lo­ping lear­ning pro­grams and orga­ni­zing cul­tu­ral pro­jects in schools and muse­ums. She col­la­bo­ra­tes with European initia­ti­ves, such as CinEd, to bring films from across Europe to young peo­p­le. She is also acti­ve in CCAJ (Le Cinéma, cent ans de jeu­nesse) – what is that? See page 20! As a lec­tu­rer at the University of Timișoara, Andrea demons­tra­tes how exci­ting cine­ma can be. Her mot­to is to bring films across and acces­si­ble to ever­yo­ne. 

Hussen Ibraheem

Hussen Ibraheem (Germany)
Filmmaker

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Hussen Ibraheem was born in Beirut and dis­co­ver­ed film through archi­tec­tu­re. His short films explo­re the­mes such as fami­ly, rela­ti­onships, mas­cu­li­ni­ty, and the sur­re­al aspects of ever­y­day life. He is curr­ent­ly stu­dy­ing inter­na­tio­nal film pro­duc­tion and is par­ti­ci­pa­ting in talent pro­grams. He was pre­vious­ly a guest at LUCAS in 2023 with MANITY. To be able to attend the 48th edi­ti­on, Hussen is put­ting work on his first fea­ture film asi­de for a few days. 

Christian Zetterberg Quelle: DFF

Christian Zetterberg (Sweden)
Filmmaker

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Christian Zetterberg is a direc­tor who crea­tes films for child­ren and young adults. His films often address issues rela­ted to child­ren’s rights, rela­ti­onships, and iden­ti­ty. He has recei­ved seve­ral awards for his work. He won the award for Best Short Film in the »Kids« com­pe­ti­ti­on for GAME RULES at LUCAS in 2024. He is curr­ent­ly deve­lo­ping a fea­ture film and pro­du­cing pro­grams for SVT Barn, a Swedish child­ren’s chan­nel com­pa­ra­ble to the German children’s chan­nel KiKA. 

Jury Competition »Youngsters«

Yannick Horn

Yannick Horn (17, Germany)

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Yannick lives for film. He atten­ded the Berlinale at just nine years old– an expe­ri­ence that con­ti­nues to influence him today. In recent years, he has made two short films of his own: SEARCHING FOR CONNECTION and ZÄHNEPUTZEN. His cur­rent favo­ri­te film is ALL WE IMAGINE AS LIGHT. Yannick is drawn to emo­tio­nal­ly char­ged cine­ma and would love to talk to Andrea Arnold about uncon­ven­tio­nal sto­rytel­ling. His favo­ri­te quo­te comes from TWIN PEAKS: “The owls are not what they seem.” 

 

Timo Perndorfer Quelle: DFF

Timo Perndorfer (18, Austria)

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Timo del­ves deep­ly into films that chall­enge, move, or sim­ply help him unwind. He is drawn to strong atmo­sphe­res and films that remain in his memo­ry. LAWRENCE OF ARABIA is his favo­ri­te film, STRANGER THINGS was his defi­ning expe­ri­ence, while AZURE & ASMAR show­ed him the mea­ning of empa­thy and com­pas­si­on. He is also fasci­na­ted by painting—especially that of the 20th cen­tu­ry and the con­tem­po­ra­ry peri­od. Paintings that move him have an almost magi­cal pull. 

Veronika Heigelmayer Quelle: DFF

Veronika Heigelmayer (18, Austria)

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Whether romance, dra­ma, or wes­tern, Veronika loves films that break away from a run-of-the-mill sto­ry­line. 500 DAYS OF SUMMER is her favo­ri­te. Why? The quo­te “Most days of the year are unre­mar­kab­le” says it all for her. At the cine­ma, she wants to lea­ve ever­y­day life behind and be enchan­ted  – like she was during her first 3D film, TANGLED, when the lan­terns rose up into the hea­vens. Veronika is a Wes Anderson fan too and would love to ask him how he comes up with his ide­as. 

Mathias Mertens Quelle: DFF

Mathias Martens Ávila (21, Belgium)

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One film a day – tha­t’s Mathias’ goal. He stu­dies ani­ma­ti­on and never mis­ses a Marvel film with his fri­ends. He even wants to direct one hims­elf one day. Almodóvar’s ALL ABOUT MY MOTHER made a deep impres­si­on on him. Films can’t chan­ge or save peo­p­le, he belie­ves, but they can inspi­re and spread ide­as. Besides cine­ma, Mathias is pas­sio­na­te about histo­ry, poli­tics, and comics. He loves SOME LIKE IT HOT for one reason alo­ne – its final line: “I’m a man… Well, nobo­dy­’s per­fect.” 

Selia Krasniqi

Selia Krasniqi (20, Belgium)

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Selia is stu­dy­ing ani­ma­ti­on too. She’s acti­ve in the film club and loves films that con­vey hope and soli­da­ri­ty – like DRAW FOR CHANGE!. Much like with INCEPTION, Selia enjoys immer­sing hers­elf in laye­red sto­ries. Good films for her are mir­rors of socie­ty and win­dows into new cul­tures. She belie­ves that films are espe­ci­al­ly important for child­ren and young peo­p­le – not just as enter­tain­ment, but as a way to rai­se awa­re­ness of issues that affect us all. 

Lotte Dorner

Lotte Dorner (18, Germany)

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Lotte views films as a social acti­vi­ty, pre­fer­ring to do so with fri­ends and a bowl of sweet and sal­ty pop­corn. She enjoy­ed wat­ching DOUNIA, MALEFICENT 2 and WER WIR WAREN. According to her, a film must set some­thing in moti­on, be thought-pro­­vo­king or touch her visual­ly. Lotte loves music. She sings in a choir, plays in two bands and prac­ti­ces point fight­ing, a type of kick­boxing. During the fes­ti­val week, she is loo­king for­ward to the con­ver­sa­ti­ons after­wards and hopes to meet the DEAR FUTURE CHILDREN film team. 

ECFA-Jury 2025

The jury of the European Children’s Film Association (ECFA) con­sists of European experts from the child­ren’s and youth film indus­try. This year, Margret Albers (Jury Competition »Kids«), tog­e­ther with Stefan Huber and Noy Levin (both Jury Competition »Teens«), will honor their favo­ri­te European child­ren’s film with the ECFA Award. The award qua­li­fies the films for the annu­al com­pe­ti­ti­on for the “Best European Children’s Film of the Year” pri­ze, which is pre­sen­ted during the Berlin International Film Festival.

Anna Hofmann

Anna Hofmann (Austria)
Co-Director of the Vienna International Children’s Film Festival

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Anna Hofmann, who has been invol­ved with the Vienna International Children’s Film Festival for over 20 years, has been one of its direc­tors sin­ce 2024. She is dedi­ca­ted to not only pre­sen­ting excep­tio­nal films for child­ren and ado­le­s­cents but also to pro­mo­ting the medi­um of film in gene­ral. She accom­plishes this by co-orga­­ni­­zing “Kinderkinowelten,” a film edu­ca­ti­on initia­ti­ve that screens and fol­lows up on spe­cial child­ren’s films in Austrian schools.  

Christian Zetterberg Quelle: DFF

Christian Zetterberg (Sweden)
Filmmaker

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Christian Zetterberg is a direc­tor who crea­tes films for child­ren and young adults. His films often address issues rela­ted to child­ren’s rights, rela­ti­onships, and iden­ti­ty. He has recei­ved seve­ral awards for his work. He won the award for Best Short Film in the »Kids« com­pe­ti­ti­on for GAME RULES at LUCAS in 2024. He is curr­ent­ly deve­lo­ping a fea­ture film and pro­du­cing pro­grams for SVT Barn, a Swedish child­ren’s chan­nel com­pa­ra­ble to the German children’s chan­nel KiKA. 

Quelle: DFF

Andrea Reisz (Rumania)
Film edu­ca­tor and cul­tu­ral manager

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Andrea Reisz is an expert in cul­tu­re, cine­ma, and film edu­ca­ti­on. She has spent years deve­lo­ping lear­ning pro­grams and orga­ni­zing cul­tu­ral pro­jects in schools and muse­ums. She col­la­bo­ra­tes with European initia­ti­ves, such as CinEd, to bring films from across Europe to young peo­p­le. She is also acti­ve in CCAJ (Le Cinéma, cent ans de jeu­nesse) – what is that? See page 20! As a lec­tu­rer at the University of Timișoara, Andrea demons­tra­tes how exci­ting cine­ma can be. Her mot­to is to bring films across and acces­si­ble to ever­yo­ne. 

Cinema Without Borders

Cinema Without Borders is an inter­na­tio­nal net­work of film indus­try pro­fes­sio­nals com­mit­ted to pro­mo­ting diver­si­ty, inclu­si­on, and social jus­ti­ce in film. Every year, Cinema Without Borders pres­ents the Bridging the Borders Award at sel­ec­ted film fes­ti­vals. The award reco­gni­zes films that bring peo­p­le tog­e­ther across geo­gra­phi­cal, reli­gious, eth­nic, cul­tu­ral, and eco­no­mic boun­da­ries and address issues of social justice.

Keely Badger

Keely Badger

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Keely Badger is the foun­der and Chief Marketing Officer of 360 MEDIA Consulting, a digi­tal mar­ke­ting agen­cy led by women that works with sto­rytel­lers, chan­ge­ma­kers, and brands at the fore­front of social impact and inno­va­ti­on. Keely deve­lo­ped a pas­si­on for the trans­for­ma­ti­ve power of docu­men­ta­ry film in buil­ding bridges bet­ween com­mu­ni­ties and rai­sing cri­ti­cal awa­re­ness. Over the past 15 years, she has work­ed in both the public and pri­va­te sec­tors, using social cine­ma as a tool to inspi­re audi­en­ces to take meaningful action.

Chale Nafus

Chale Nafus

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Chale Nafus was born in Dallas and atten­ded public schools. He spent sum­mers in the 1950s at his sis­ter’s ranch in Comanche County and lear­ned Spanish from his class­ma­tes and drea­med of lea­ving Dallas. After stu­dy­ing at the University of Texas at Arlington, the Universidad Autónoma de México, and UT Austin, he began a long tea­ching care­er at various col­leges. After reti­ring in 1998, he spent four years tra­ve­ling and wri­ting befo­re joi­ning the Austin Film Society as pro­gram direc­tor. Now ful­ly reti­red, he ser­ves on the boards of the Austin Film Society and OUTsider Fest, as well as on the advi­so­ry com­mit­tees of IndieMeme and Cine Las Americas.

Rodrigo Garcia

Rodrigo Garcia

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Rodrigo Garcia, born in Colombia and rai­sed in Mexico. He is a screen­wri­ter, direc­tor, pro­du­cer, and aut­hor. For over 20 years, Garcia has shaped inde­pen­dent cine­ma and has direc­ted the Oscar-nomi­na­­ted film ALBERT NOBBS, as well as MOTHER AND CHILD, NINE LIVES, FOUR GOOD DAYS, and most recent­ly FAMILIA for Netflix. His debut film THINGS YOU CAN TELL JUST BY LOOKING AT HER won the “Un Certain Regard” award at Cannes in 2000. Garcia has also enjoy­ed suc­cess in tele­vi­si­on, with SIX FEET UNDER, BIG LOVE, and the HBO series IN TREATMENT, for which he recei­ved a WGA Award. In 2022, he and his brot­her adapt­ed his father Gabriel García Márquez’s novel One Hundred Years of Solitude for Netflix. His memoir, A Farewell to Gabo and Mercedes, was published in 2021.

Shirin Sohani | Quelle: DFF

Shirin Sohani

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Shirin Sohani is a direc­tor and ani­ma­tor born in Tehran. After com­ple­ting her mas­ter’s degree in ani­ma­ti­on direc­ting at Tehran University of Art, she laun­ched her care­er in 2012 as a con­cept and back­ground artist, screen­wri­ter, and pro­duc­tion mana­ger. Her gra­dua­ti­on film, THE FAN (2014), won natio­nal and inter­na­tio­nal awards. In 2023, she and Hossein Molayemi recei­ved the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film for IN THE SHADOW OF THE CYPRESS at the 97th Academy Awards.

Bijan Tehrani

Bijan Tehrani

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Hassan (Bijan) Tehrani is a film direc­tor, wri­ter, and film cri­tic. His first artic­le was published 45 years ago in a weekly Iranian film publi­ca­ti­on. Eighteen years ago, Bijan foun­ded Cinema Without Borders, an online publi­ca­ti­on dedi­ca­ted to pro­mo­ting inter­na­tio­nal cine­ma in the U.S. and around the world. He still works as its edi­­tor-in-chief. He has also been a colum­nist and film cri­tic for Iranian film maga­zi­nes for 45 years. Tehrani has recei­ved seve­ral awards at inter­na­tio­nal film fes­ti­vals and book fairs for his short films, child­ren’s books, and con­tri­bu­ti­ons to inter­na­tio­nal cinema.

Abbas Yari I Quelle: DFF

Abbas Yari

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Abbas Yari is an Iranian jour­na­list and film cri­tic born in Arak. He gra­dua­ted from the School of Television and Cinema in 1975. Yari began his jour­na­li­stic care­er at Sobh e Emrouz, Tehran Mosavvar, and Kayhan befo­re co-foun­­ding the film maga­zi­ne, which he edi­ted until 2021. Yari is curr­ent­ly edi­­tor-in-chief of Cinemaye Bedoon Marz, a new Iranian online film plat­form. He was also invol­ved in foun­ding the Iranian Film Museum in Tehran and the Foundation for Film Critics and Writers on Iranian Cinema, and he orga­ni­zes cul­tu­ral events in Arak.

Hammad Zaidi | Quelle: DFF

Hammad Zaidi 

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Hammad Zaidi is the foun­der of the Lonely Seal Company Group, Lonely Seal Releasing, and the Lonely Seal International Film, Screenplay, and Music Festival. He is also a mem­ber of the Producers Guild of America and was acti­ve in the Writers Guild of America. Zaidi has pro­du­ced films, deve­lo­ped video games, writ­ten artic­les, and ser­ved on juries at num­e­rous fes­ti­vals, inclu­ding Sundance, SXSW, and Slamdance. Zaidi has taught at seve­ral uni­ver­si­ties, inclu­ding UCLA and USC. He ear­ned his Master of Fine Arts degree from the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television in 1994.

 

LUCAS separation

Film Guests 2025

For its 48th edi­ti­on, LUCAS wel­co­mes num­e­rous film guests on site at the four fes­ti­val cine­mas or in an online dis­cus­sion. Film edu­ca­tors accom­pa­ny all film scree­nings. In addi­ti­on, a »pre-film dis­cus­sion« on a com­pe­ti­ti­on film has once again been crea­ted as part of a »get invol­ved!« project.

The film guests of LUCAS #48 will be announ­ced here one by one.

»Filmgespräche vor­ab«
LUCAS separation

Greetings 2025

Julia Fleißig ©Oliver Leicht | Quelle: DFF
Julia Fleißig ©Oliver Leicht | Quelle: DFF

Julia Fleißig
Festival Director

OFF TO THE CINEMA!

Take #48! For this year’s LUCAS pro­gram, we immer­sed our­sel­ves in hundreds of sto­ries, wat­ched and dis­cus­sed dozens of hours of film in order to bring tog­e­ther the stron­gest pro­duc­tions from across the glo­be for young audiences.

“Growing” was a cen­tral gui­ding the­me in the film sel­ec­tion for LUCAS #48. Growth is a pro­cess that can­not be stop­ped and can­not be rever­sed. You can­not escape it – it sim­ply hap­pens. Once you’ve grown, you may no lon­ger fit into old favo­ri­te swea­ters or old pat­terns. In the end, you don’t even choo­se the situa­tions in which you grow. More often than not, they are moments of uncer­tain­ty and vul­nerabi­li­ty – but if all goes well, you emer­ge stronger.

The »Young European Cinephiles« – six young peo­p­le from Bulgaria, Greece, and Germany – have enga­ged par­ti­cu­lar­ly inten­si­ve­ly with this the­me. Their cura­ted pro­gram for LUCAS tells of the search for one’s own iden­ti­ty and of gro­wing into a com­plex world. The three sel­ec­ted films show: growth is not only an indi­vi­du­al pro­cess, but also shaped by socie­tal, social, and poli­ti­cal circumstances.

For film fes­ti­vals like LUCAS to grow, relia­ble struc­tures and dedi­ca­ted sup­port are essen­ti­al. We would like to express our heart­felt thanks to all sup­port­ing insti­tu­ti­ons and to all tho­se con­nec­ted to us in fri­end­ship and part­ner­ship, for making it pos­si­ble to con­ti­nue pre­sen­ting powerful film­ma­king for young audi­en­ces. Because all the work, ener­gy, and com­mit­ment of our team would not be enough if the finan­cial foun­da­ti­ons were not also in place.

Attention recor­ding!

Timon Gremmels ©Salome Roessler / lensandlight | Quelle: DFF
Timon Gremmels ©Salome Roessler / len­sand­light | Quelle: DFF

3 Questions for …
Timon Gremmels,
Hessian Minister for Science and Research, Art and Culture

What impul­ses can a film fes­ti­val for young audi­en­ces give to cul­tu­ral poli­cy?
A fes­ti­val like LUCAS shows very con­cre­te­ly what cul­tu­ral poli­cy can achie­ve: it encou­ra­ges young peo­p­le to get invol­ved, to par­ti­ci­pa­te emo­tio­nal­ly, and to take on dif­fe­rent per­spec­ti­ves. By not only wat­ching films, but also cura­ting them, dis­cus­sing them, and co-deve­lo­ping the fes­ti­val pro­gram, they expe­ri­ence cul­tu­re as a living space for par­ti­ci­pa­ti­on, edu­ca­ti­on – and, not least, demo­cra­tic togetherness.

Why is it important that child­ren and young peo­p­le have access to films through fes­ti­vals like LUCAS?
Films can not only enter­tain, but also pro­vi­de an ent­ry point into the world. LUCAS gives child­ren and young peo­p­le the tools to per­cei­ve and under­stand films more con­scious­ly. Those who encoun­ter good films at an ear­ly age learn to inter­pret sto­ries, make sen­se of emo­ti­ons, and ques­ti­on dif­fe­rent per­spec­ti­ves. In the cine­ma, tog­e­ther with others, important social and emo­tio­nal expe­ri­en­ces emer­ge. LUCAS offers young peo­p­le gui­ded access to film – with film talks and an edu­ca­tio­nal frame­work. At best, this not only fos­ters media liter­acy but also sup­ports per­so­nal development.

Which children’s or youth film has the best sound­track, and what are you loo­king for­ward to at LUCAS #48?
Disney songs always work, of cour­se. With my god­child, I used to enjoy wat­ching the BIBI & TINA films, com­ple­te with their rou­sing sound­tracks. Apart from that, I look for­ward to what makes LUCAS spe­cial: high-qua­li­ty films, exci­ting dis­cus­sions, and hea­ring how child­ren and young peo­p­le reflect on what they see on the big screen.

Mike Josef ©Oliver Tamagnini | Quelle: DFF
Mike Josef ©Oliver Tamagnini | Quelle: DFF

3 Questions for …
Mike Josef,
Lord Mayor of the City of Frankfurt am Main and Patron of LUCAS

 

What does a fes­ti­val like LUCAS mean for Frankfurt’s cul­tu­ral pro­fi­le – and how does it dif­fer from other film fes­ti­vals in the city?
The LUCAS Festival is a fixed part of Frankfurt’s cul­tu­ral life. The many dif­fe­rent fes­ti­vals in Frankfurt – espe­ci­al­ly in the sum­mer – con­tri­bu­te to making the city a vibrant and cul­tu­ral­ly diver­se place. What makes LUCAS spe­cial is its focus on child­ren and young peo­p­le. The fes­ti­val brea­thes inter­na­tio­na­li­ty and cul­tu­ral exch­an­ge, con­nec­ting clo­se­ly with the ever­y­day lives of child­ren and young peo­p­le in our cos­mo­po­li­tan city. Particularly remar­kab­le is the wide age ran­ge that LUCAS covers – from pre­schoo­lers to teen­agers, young adults, and bey­ond. A high­light for me is Festival Sunday, when fami­lies enjoy free ent­ry to the cine­ma and the exhi­bi­ti­ons at the DFF. It’s a won­derful oppor­tu­ni­ty for a trip to the Film Museum.

As you men­tio­ned, LUCAS is not only aimed at a young audi­ence but also at film enthu­si­asts aged 18 and over. What can adults learn from children’s and youth films?
I think ever­yo­ne remem­bers their own child­hood. As adults, we often for­get to see the world through children’s eyes. Children often have an unfil­te­red view of the world, while at the same time ques­tio­ning much of what we adults do. Children’s and youth films remind us to shift per­spec­ti­ves, rethink things, and lis­ten. Especially on topics like jus­ti­ce, fami­ly, or cli­ma­te pro­tec­tion, their fresh view­point can open up new ways of see­ing. Particularly in a city like Frankfurt, whe­re many per­spec­ti­ves con­ver­ge, the­se films can help build bridges and encou­ra­ge reflec­tion on one’s own stance.

What would be your dream cameo in a film? Or which film cha­rac­ter would you like to be for a day?
I’m a big fan of Sylvester Stallone as Rocky Balboa. When I visi­ted Frankfurt’s part­ner city Philadelphia this year, I took a walk to the ori­gi­nal film­ing loca­ti­on. With the ori­gi­nal film music in my ears, you real­ly do feel a litt­le like Rocky Balboa.

Christine Kopf ©Sophie Schüler | Quelle: DFF
Christine Kopf ©Sophie Schüler | Quelle: DFF

3 Questions for …
Christine Kopf, Artistic Director of the DFF – Deutsches Filminstitut & Filmmuseum 

Which pro­gram item are you most loo­king for­ward to at LUCAS #48?
I am par­ti­cu­lar­ly loo­king for­ward to the visit of Alain Bergala and Nathalie Bourgeois, who have been set­ting bench­marks in film edu­ca­ti­on for 30 years with “Le ciné­ma, cent ans de jeu­nesse” (CCAJ). The inter­na­tio­nal pro­gram com­bi­nes aes­the­tic expe­ri­en­ces with prac­ti­cal film work and enga­ges young peo­p­le world­wi­de in a lively dia­lo­gue with cine­ma. This event is a fan­ta­stic oppor­tu­ni­ty for anyo­ne inte­res­ted in pedago­gy and film edu­ca­ti­on to gain insight into this renow­ned pro­ject. Our guests are tru­ly lea­ding aut­ho­ri­ties in film education.

Which events would you espe­ci­al­ly recom­mend?
Of cour­se, Festival Sunday for fami­lies with the guest pro­gram of the MiniFilmclub, whe­re pre­school child­ren dis­co­ver expe­ri­men­tal short films and enga­ge with them crea­tively. I would also high­light the work­shop lin­ked to the cur­rent exhi­bi­ti­on “Long Takes. One Shots. No Cuts.” with the »Foсus.Film.Сlass«. The exhi­bi­ti­on focu­ses on the art of the long take – that is, long, unin­ter­rupt­ed came­ra shots. In line with this, a school class works in work­shops on the film 1917 (US/GB 2019, dir. Sam Mendes) and pres­ents the film and their results during the fes­ti­val week – an exci­ting event for clas­ses from gra­de 10 onwards.

Was the­re a film in your youth that spark­ed some­thing in you – per­haps even the desi­re to work in film pro­fes­sio­nal­ly?
As a stu­dent, I vol­un­tee­red rather acci­den­tal­ly at a coll­ec­tively run cine­ma. At the time, I didn’t know it yet, but my love for that place pro­found­ly shaped my later care­er path, even though I had ori­gi­nal­ly wan­ted to beco­me a journalist.