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Science Fair directed by Cristina Costantini and Darren Foster
Science Fair directed by Cristina Costantini and Darren Foster

The Calgary International Film Festival has revealed the first six youth focused films coming to the 19th annual festival from September 19 to 30, 2018.

The films were selected by a group of Calgary high school students recruited by the Calgary International Film Festival for its new Generation Next program. With the help of the festival’s experienced film programming team, the students picked six youth-focused films from a roster of new films from around the world.

The six films will have special screenings for high school classes participating in the Generation Next program. These same films will also screen as part of the regular festival lineup. Schedule information and individual ticket sales will be announced August 28.

The six Generation Next films are as follows:

FILM SCHOOL AFRICA: Nathan Pfaff’s powerful and heartwarming feature directorial debut follows Katie Taylor, a Los Angeles casting director, as she teaches filmmaking to youth in an impoverished South African community.

L’ANIMALE: Director Katharina Mueckstein’s second feature film is a raw, honest coming-of-age drama with a synth-heavy soundtrack that takes us down the familiar path of trying to fit in amongst friends, and figuring out our identity.

RESPETO: A bold, dark, utterly unique and electric film filled with original poetry and rap music, lead by Filipino hip-hop artist and YouTube star Abra.

SCIENCE FAIR: In this inspiring documentary, we meet a global roster of teenage scientists as they compete for the top prize at the International Science and Engineering Fair.

THE MISEDUCATION OF CAMERON POST: Based on the novel by Emily M. Danforth, Cameron (Chloë Grace Moretz) gets caught with another girl in the backseat of a car on prom night, and is quickly shipped off to a conversion therapy

VIRUS TROPICAL: Born into an unconventional Ecuadorian family, Paola grows up between Ecuador and Colombia and finds herself unable to fit in any mood.

“It was amazing to work with the high school students and learning which films and themes really resonate,” said Brenda Lieberman, Lead Programmer with the Calgary International Film Festival. “Our students were committed to curating a strong list of films and the program itself really opened their eyes to a wide range of genres, topics and styles of film and all competing on the festival circuit. Even being exposed to World Cinema for the first time was incredible for them.”

Generation Next is a new program, the first of its kind in Canada, and strives to empower youth voices and help local students consider careers in the Alberta film industry.

“Calgary Film is always striving to add diversity in our festival’s film selection, which Generation Next makes possible,” says Calgary Film Executive Director Steve Schroeder. “We are also inspiring local students to pursue careers in filmmaking.”

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