By Anand Holla

 

At the scenic town of Giffoni Valle Piana in Italy, it’s not business as usual. The otherwise quiet hillside commune is bursting with young energy from 41 countries across the world. 3500 young jurors, aged between three and 25, are down for the 44th edition of the Giffoni Experience – the biggest international children’s film festival in Europe.

Of these jurors, six bright young minds from Qatar are having a ball watching films, learning to critically evaluate films, making new friends and even learning to speak some Italian. Having already participated in the inaugural edition of Doha Film Institute’s (DFI) Ajyal Youth Film Festival 2013, the six are now representing Qatar at this year’s Giffoni film festival.

The six jurors from Qatar are Ayah al-Ansari, 14, Sana al-Ansari, 17, Deema al-Hail, 11, Abdul Kareem Anisetty, 16, Abdul Aziz al-Haddad, 16, and Naji al-Ali, 15. In one of DFI’s videos, the young delegation is caught wide-eyed taking in the celebratory atmosphere of the festival that kicked off on Friday and is on till July 27. “We are really happy. The mood here is nice. You feel a strong vibe,” says Naji in the video.

Apart from watching movies and casting their opinions on them, the delegation from Qatar is trying to relish the whole experience, by utilising the opportunity to exchange cultures – only last night, the DFI team and the jurors hosted an Iftar at Giffoni – and meet filmmakers and actors.

In fact, the kids caught up with Emmy-nominated actor Matt Bomer, best known for his role as Neal Caffrey on White Collar. In a mini interview with Bomer, Deema asks him why he chose acting as a career. “Acting chose me. If I was sane enough to do anything else, I would. For me, it’s just a means of self-expression and self-understanding which I didn’t get from anything else,” Bomer responds.

With the DFI’s preparations for its second edition of Ajyal Youth Film Festival catching speed, its youth jury programme – the Doha Film Experience – in which young jurors from Qatar and the region watch, analyse, and discuss films from all over the world, is sure to gain precious perspective from the Giffoni Experience.

The Ajyal festival – scheduled from December 1 to 6 – is modelled on the Giffoni festival. Screening 163 films over 10 days, the theme for this year’s Giffoni Experience is ‘Be Different’. Last year, Ajyal festival showcased more than 40 films including shorts, documentaries and features, and saw more than 400 young jurors – between the ages of 8 to 21 – of 45 nationalities participating in the youth jury.

Ajyal, which means generations in Arabic, not only unites film lovers but also inspires discussion and creative interaction, says the DFI.

A note about the Giffoni Experience says that children and youth will live for 10 days together and will share the unique Giffoni experience. “A record 30,000 applications for the juries, the numbers have reached record peaks thanks to the web and an even more direct and immediate dialogue between youth and Giffoni.

“Giffoni is a year-round experience for jurors. They have helped to choose some of the talent of this edition thanks to the constant surveys launched on our social networks,” the note says.

“Young people are in the frontline and participate actively in what has become an incredible and fantastic experience for youth created by youth,” the note adds, “For the first time this year, there will be foreign jurors from Azerbaijan and Lebanon. Moreover, after a few years, kids from Argentina, Croatia, Nigeria and Turkey will be at the festival.”