Camera Zizanio

PHOTO: One of Camera Zizanio’s youngest entries. Children from the 2nd Eco Kindergarten of Chania, Crete, create their own film “Doreta caretta-caretta”.

In difficult times, like nowadays, with so many dysfunctions in the education system in Greece, one would expect a sharp decrease of initiatives related to creative activities. Quite the opposite!

And Camera Zizanio – this major European film festival with films made by children and young people up to 20 years – is the verification!

The films submission is just completed and we’re able to make a first assessment.

The Greek participations of 12th European Meeting of Young Peoples’ Audiovisual Creation – Camera Zizanio, are not just multiple of previous years but note an important increase.

With 70 entries at the last year’s 11^th edition, this year we have more than 180!

The numbers themselves, simply note a quantitative increase. But in reality, we have a leap, a leap forward!

Films from schools almost all over Greece, and even kindergartens, public and private, from film workshops and individual young creators.

Perhaps, the most important is the theme of the films as there is a great differentiation in comparison to previous years. Even more relative to everyday life, the young creations are touching all modern social problems: economic crisis, in-school violence, immigration, computers, and environment.

Some typical titles: “Tear up the school scenario”,” Newscasts bad for your health”, ” Say no to violence-say yes to friendship”, “Are dreams dangerous?”, “Yet Violence hurts”, “The digital Tom Thumb it’s not me”, “Electronically Enslaved ”, “Look through the other’s eyes”,” Calling them homeless, calling them unappreciated”, “Teacher is missing”…

So we can for sure, say that the children works participating in Camera Zizanio, are the most authentic oscilloscope of today’s reality.

This explosion of creativity is in contrast to what is happening in the world of “grown ups.” If we could combine all these voices, only one sentence would come out “this crisis is not ours.”

All this prejudice that the 12th Camera Zizanio, that will be held along with the 15th Olympia International Film Festival for Children and Young People, from December 1 to 8, 2012 in Pyrgos, is more than just a great celebration of youth audiovisual creation.