The 33rd Visionale presents the works of young filmmakers from Hessen – this year again live at the Gallus Theater in Frankfurt. But Corona is still an issue.

It’s going to be turbulent in the Mighty’s brain box. The feelings go crazy, the control center is overloaded. As it just happens at this age between twelve and 15 years. This competition category includes “Alles Kopfsache”, a mixture of real and animated films with clay figures that a group of ten from “Room for Children” and the Gallus Center made as a contribution to the visionaries. “Mutiny!”, Meanwhile, the kids are rapping in the video of the same name from the hip-hop mobile of Caritas and the Frankfurt-Griesheim children’s home. “Be there!”

The 33rd edition of Hesse’s largest and oldest youth media festival includes 64 films, including animations, documentaries and feature films, but also commercials, music videos and experimental films. They were selected from more than 100 submissions from youth organizations, schools, private individuals and students and will be presented in the Gallus Theater from Friday to Sunday. Six jurors from film education, film production and cinema decide on the best work in five age categories. There are prizes totaling 5000 euros to be won.

But above all, it’s about the many great ideas that young people come up with when they get their hands on a camera. Thanks to the technical development, some things have been simplified, says Felix Fischl from the Frankfurt Film House, which organizes the Visionale with the Frankfurt Media Center, the city’s youth and social welfare office and the Gallus Theater. Which does not mean that it is actually easy to “bundle these ideas”. Especially in times of Corona. We are particularly pleased that the number of submissions has increased despite the pandemic, says Merten Giesen, Managing Director of the Frankfurt Media Center.

“It was difficult because of Corona,” say Paul Platzek and Nikita Keppert. In the film elective at the Helmholtz School in Frankfurt, they created the stop-motion film “Stickman”, in which a stick figure comes to life and does mischief. In terms of content, that has nothing to do with the lockdown, but it did influence the film insofar as they “did everything completely independently” during this time. For Corona plays the leading role in the music film “Life is strange – Part 2” of the intensive class of the Michael-Ende-School in Frankfurt. It ties in with the first part of “Life is strange”, which won first place in the special category “#coronatime” at Visionale 2020. As in the previous year, when the festival only took place online, the special competition, which the audience traditionally votes on, revolves around the virus again this year, this time under the title “Restart the system”.

Paul Galli, Janina Lutter and Sofia Ayerbe Fiala, who are studying Motion Pictures at the Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences, submitted the entry “To Santa Claus”. Paul, who has to spend Christmas in the shared apartment because of Corona, and is heartwarming by roommate Janina, believes in this. In contrast, Caspar Hahnemann’s mystery drama “Das Haus” is dark and virus-free. Kafkaesk stumbles through a building reminiscent of pictures by MC Escher. So this visionary has something ready for everyone again.