Noticias Encuentro Audiovisual de Jóvenes
Cinematographic education with the Young Audiovisual Workshop
  • As many as 30 student-made short-films participate in the Young Audiovisual Workshop and competition which takes place between the 27th and 29th of June.

  • All chosen students will receive professional help analyzing their films as well as the opportunity to see their work projected on the big screen and opt to all awards.

The YAW is the seed of the now well established Cinema Jove which came about as an innovating experience in cinematographic education for students. Nowadays it’s one of the permanent sections in the Valencian Festival and represents “our commitment to educate in audiovisual language and also our way of defending it”, in the words of Carlos Madrid, director of the festival organized by the Valencian Institute of Culture (IVAC).

This year, 30 short films have been selected from the hundred submitted by educational establishments all over Spain. Their authors take part in the YAW between the 27th and 29th June at the Colegio Mayor Rector Peset, they opt to the different awards, they have the opportunity to see their work on the big screen for the first time and furthermore they will be able to reflect on their work and their audiovisual narrative in general with the guided help of professionals in the field. The latter is materialized in “tutoring” sessions, in which the students analyze their films from different points of view under the guidance of Gabi Ochoa, director, filmmaker and scriptwriter; and Emilio Martí, entertainer, artist and art therapist. Both experts will train the participants in practical aspects such as the script review, preproduction, storyboard design, shooting plan, media economy and distribution.

This initiative, originated from the previous edition as a pilot test, is now consolidated this year and reinforces the YAW, foundational section of the Cinema Jove that, according to Carlos Madrid, is “one of the cornerstones” of the Festival.

The selected projects are distributed in three categories: Pre-school and Primary (up to 12-year-olds), ESO (compulsory secondary education) and Bachillerato (optional high school level) (from 13 to 20 year-olds); and students of training programs or universities (from 16 to 24 year-olds), with all of their productions carried out throughout the educational framework.

The short-films opt to six main awards, two per category. Honorable mentions are also granted in recognition to the best male and female interpretations, best photography, best script and most innovating film.

Furthermore, for one more edition, the Wolters Kluwer-Cuadernos de Pedagogía magazine awards the best educational work in the audiovisual field. Likewise, for its part, the program “La aventura del saber” on channel La 2 of TVE, grants its own award to the best production made within the educational field.

At present there are many festivals dedicated to the screening and exhibition of short films made at schools and universities in Spain and all over the world, but, back then, Cinema Jove was the first to do it nation-wide” recalls the coordinator of the YAW, Teresa Aguilar.

The section closes on Friday the 29th of June with the live music screening of “Sherlock, Jr,” a Buster Keaton classic.