LUCAS ⇌ SCHOOL

With its offers for teachers, LUCAS combines the festival experience with participatory film education in local schools. Whether film sponsorship, curating film classics or workshops on multimedia film criticism: Depending on the age group, films are explored in a variety of formats, sometimes playfully, sometimes analytically. The aim is always to enter into a dialog about viewing experiences and to get to know film as an art form rather than a mere consumer good. In each case, the focus is on the children’s and young people’s own ideas and creative implementations.

Contact and advice:
E‑mail: s.schmidt@dff.film
Tel: 069 961 220 — 672

Workshops for school classes

Film Patrons

Curtain up for the »Film Patrons«! The »Film Patrons« classes organize the screening of a competition film at the festival in their own individual way. Preparation begins at school a few weeks beforehand. After viewing, discussion and film analysis under professional guidance, the heart of the project begins with creative preparation in small groups. Whether specially designed posters, re-enacted scenes, further developed dialog or character portraits: students have a great deal of freedom in their project work and can contribute their own talents and preferences. This results in individual presentations that offer film guests and the festival audience real added value to their enjoyment of the film and enrich the mentor class with a film culture experience.

Background information and timetable:
In consultation with teachers, the LUCAS team selects a suitable film for the sponsorship at the end of the summer vacation. In addition to the age group, thematic and aesthetic references as well as current learning objectives are taken into account in the choice of film. At the following 4–5 workshop dates at the school, the presentation is created, which accompanies the cinema screening during the festival week at the end of the project.

The online presentation of the »Film Patrons« for MISSION ULJA FUNK serves as an example.

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Screen Talks

»Screen Talks« offer the ideal opportunity to extend a visit to the LUCAS Cinema with an intensive film discussion with guests. In the undisturbed atmosphere of a workshop room under the guidance of a film educator, the group can easily ask the filmmakers questions: Why was this camera angle chosen, what idea was the script based on, what is the message behind the ending?

Background information and timetable:
In the run-up to the festival, teachers together with the LUCAS team choose a film screening followed by »Screen Talks«. The »Screen Talks« last 60–90 minutes.

»Focus.Film.Class«

What is the film-historical context of a work? And what characteristics does it have in order to find its unique place in film history? Children and young people ask themselves these questions in their examination of the content and aesthetics of a selected film. Alongside the temporary exhibition “Long Takes. One Shots. No Cuts.”, the »Focus.Film.Class« takes a closer look at 1917 (US/GB 2019. D: Sam Mendes), a work that represents an outstanding example of planned sequences in film with spectacular tracking shots and elaborate choreography without recognizable cuts.

Background information and timetable:
In consultation with teachers, the LUCAS team selects a work from the DFF’s special exhibition in the spring. Accompanied by film educators, the school class prepares for the screening at the festival on three workshop dates after the summer vacation.

Further information on the »Focus.Film.Class« at LUCAS #48

Exchange meetings on the participation of teachers

LUCAS invites interested teachers to the DFF on regular dates in spring and before the summer vacations to introduce them to the festival and find out about their needs. Opportunities for cooperation are discussed, initial program highlights are presented and workshops that can still be booked are introduced. The common goal: to strengthen film as a mediating and artistic medium in schools and to inspire pupils for extraordinary cinema.

Next date:

July 1, 2025 from 4 to 6 p.m. at the DFF – Deutsches Filminstitut & Filmmuseum

Feedback by June 20 to lucas-info@dff.film, keyword: LUCAS & SCHOOL

Further education program for teachers

As part of a cooperation between the DFF – Deutsches Filminstitut & Filmmuseum and the Hessische Lehrkräfteakademie, LUCAS is now offering online training seminars that provide an introduction to topics relating to film education and film festivals.

This is the ideal introduction for teachers to get to know LUCAS better and to use the great added value of film in the classroom. All training courses are free of charge for Hessian teachers and can be booked independently and flexibly via the weekly schedule on the school portal. All training courses are accredited by the Hessische Lehrkräfteakademie.

Current Dates and Registration

Further education programs can be found on the offer page of the weekly schedule: Further education programs search –Hessen school portal search keywords are the course formats LUCAS, film festival and film education.

We are delighted about the strong interest in our education program and look forward to welcoming you to the 48th edition of LUCAS – International Festival for Young Film Lovers this autumn.

Further information and registration:
s.schmidt@dff.film | 069 961 220 — 672

Educational Material (in German)

For the entries in the »Kids« and »Teens« | Feature Film competitions, experienced film educators compile educational film material that can be obtained free of charge by teachers and interested parties and is sent digitally with every film registration by groups. The materials enable school classes and other groups to take an introductory or in-depth look at the competition films, based on the standards of the DFF’s guiding principles for film education.

You can find the materials for the films here.

Festival reporters

Want to professionally interview directors, cast and producers of children’s and youth films, watch current movies and get a taste of the festival atmosphere? If you want to get up close and personal with filmmakers as a roving reporter, the »Festival Reporters« project is just the thing for you. A school class is given media education support at every stage of the production process, from the finalized shooting schedule to the finished report.

The teacher is actively involved in the implementation of the project and supervises a production group after a full-day training course. The finished report is then broadcast via TV and livestream by the Media Education Center South and is also available at mediathek-hessen.de. »Festivalreporter*innen« is a project of the Medienbildungszentrum Süd in cooperation with LUCAS – International Festival for Young Film Lovers.

Background information and schedule:
The selection of the corresponding »Festival Reporter« class is carried out by the Medienbildungszentrum Süd. After a preparatory workshop, the group shoots their reports during the festival week.

LUCAS on Tour

LUCAS films go on tour and make it possible to participate in LUCAS all year round and far beyond the festival center in the metropolitan area, and to evaluate the festival program in a sustainable and far-reaching way. To this end, the team works closely with the DFF project FILMmobil, which sends former competition films on the road and integrates them into exciting film education programs. Eschborn is also an important away game for LUCAS every year: the post-screening in front of pupils from local schools – including film patron projects – is traditionally an important part of the festival year.