The Hidden World programme was created by the young jurors themselves, aged 12 to 14. What was the main theme for them and why is the band called this? The common denominator of all the films is that they focus on exploring worlds that normally escape our eye. Either because of how distant they are to us, or simply because we don't think to look at things around us from a different angle.
The young jury has thus selected the most interesting short films that contemporary cinema has to offer and which have been successful across prestigious film festivals. The film A Body Called Life links the exploration of microscopic organisms with self-discovery, the colourful On the 8th Day develops environmental themes, Swimming with Wings gives a glimpse into the lives of Dutch migrant children through novel animation, Girls Move Mountains captures the incredible courage of Pakistani girls in their struggle for emancipation, and Touching Darkness through a special animation technique gives an insight into the lives of children with disabilities.
The Abyss strip is reflecting period of turbulent life changes at the turn of childhood and adulthood, when the teenage person gets to know themselves, but at the same time often faces the most difficult challenges of life so far and for the first time fully confronts existential questions. Young people aged 15 to 19 helped us to create the entire series, choosing from films that have attracted the attention of juries at leading festivals around the world (Berlinale, Clermont-Ferrand, Ottawa, as well as Oscar nominations, etc.).
The series thus reflects the theme of overcoming these imaginary life chasms, whether it is racial hatred shown in Butterfly, existential anxiety in Wander to Wonder, coping with the passing of loved ones in Phoenix, the self-discovering journey in Blood and Flowers, or the devastating effects of war depicted in I Died in Irpin.
The strips can be used as a whole, or you can create individual strips from the films based on their thematic focus, as well as combine them with strips from previous years (What If? and Carousel of Emotions).