Filmmakers’ Choice: Autonomy

A series curated by filmmakers whose works are represented by arsenal distribution: Anna Faroqhi and Haim Peretz present two films that show how children experience self-determination.
CHILDREN’S PARLIAMENT (G 2024) by Anna Faroqhi and Haim Peretz accompanies the youth advisory council in the Brandenburg village of Groß Schauen. A group of children aged six to 13 organizes a demonstration for a 30-km/h speed limit on the main road and gets firsthand experience of how slow and conflict-ridden adult politics can be.
THE LITTLE FUGITIVE (USA 1953) by Ray Ashley, Morris Engel, and Ruth Orkin tells the story of a seven-year-old boy who gets lost at Coney Island. Although the film is fictional, it has a documentary feel: the actors are non-professionals, the camera observes everyday life and the images, shot with a silent 35mm handheld camera, are captured spontaneously. For François Truffaut, the film marked the beginning of the Nouvelle Vague, and Wes Anderson selected it as a personal favorite for the Berlinale Retrospective of 2023. (Anna Faroqhi, Haim Peretz)

Films:
Children’s Parliament Anna Faroqhi & Haim Peretz Germany 2024 Digital file OV/Engl ST 11 min.
The Little Fugitive Ray Ashley, Morris Engel, Ruth Orkin USA 1953 DCP OV/German ST 75 min.