Talent Lab 2021
Feature & Short Films for High School Students
We’re coming back next year with a hybrid festival, in-person and online, from April 3-13, 2022!
Students from grades 8 to 12 watch award-winning feature films and curated short film programs. Teachers can select up to 3 Film Study Guides from the short film programs and feature films with relevant information about the films and suggested discussion questions, activities, and resources. as well as instructions to set up your own animation stations and steps to develop your animation workshop in the classroom. Some feature films will also be followed by a pre-recorded Q&A with the filmmaker (to be confirmed).
With an all access pass, you will be able to access every film in the festival from your account. Please be sure to log in on the same device every time. The purchase of your pass will supply you with one ticket for each program on Eventive. Classes are welcome to view all film programs as many times as desired; however, once you’ve unlocked and started to play a feature film, you only have 48 hours to finish watching it. Please be sure to access the films you want to view by April 22.
When: April 14-23, 2021
Cost: There is an early bird discount for teachers. We accept payment online, by credit card only.
- Regular access for a single class is $75 (price includes educational materials)
To Register: Registration are closed for the R2R Online Festival 2021
Study Guide: With the registration and purchase of a school group festival pass, teachers are invited to select up to three film study guides.This year all study guides will include instructions to create your own animation stations. Steps to teach an animation workshop in the classroom will also be included. Study guides available for High School programs are: two short film packages; In Another World, Those We Care About; and the feature films, My Name is Baghdad, The Lesson, Veins of the World.
A note about subtitles: The films at the R2R Festival will either have English closed captioning or subtitles. We encourage young readers to follow English subtitles as best they can, and gain exposure to other languages, regardless of comprehension level. Research has shown that foreign language exposure sparks language learning.
If you have any questions, email education[at]r2rfestival.org.
This coming of age tale centres on the traditional nomad life of the Mongolian steppe, living in harmony with nature. After his father dies in a tragic car accident, Amra is forced to abandon his childhood reverie and assume financial responsibility for his family. Veins of the World marks Oscar nominated director Byambasuren Davaa’s debut, The Story of the Weeping Camel, as a dramatic feature filmmaker.
There are many lessons to be learned from the Holocaust. For students in Germany, understanding the full extent of Hitler’s regime and the atrocities perpetrated against the Jewish people often comes with confusion and shame. Over the course of five years, filmmaker Elena Horn follows the educational journey of four students in her hometown of Fröndenberg, the very place she learned the lesson that changed her worldview at the tender age of 14.
Shining a street light on the inequities caused by gender-based violence, discrimination and sexism, Caru Alves de Souza’s unrestrained first film celebrates the resistence of a young woman finding her balance while unexpectedly discovering a community of solidarity.
When Maya is 12 years old, she suddenly loses her hair. Within two weeks, she's completely bald. She has Alopecia Areata . Maya's body repels her hair like foreign material. Two years later, she got used to her bald head. But summer is brutal. When it's too hot for a wig and cap to hide under. In Summer Maya feels naked. And she wonders: How do the others see me? Am I good the way I am? Am I beautiful? Almost like answers to these questions, Maya and her friends produce tons of selfies. And somewhere between clicking, sharing and liking, the girls grow into young women.
In Temiscamingue, a small town in western Quebec, Gabrielle and Yoan are in the midst of the biggest change of their young lives: the transition to adulthood. Embracing one final summer of close friendship, before ‘life after high school’ officially commences, they’ve cultivated disparate aspirations for what comes next. Shy on the surface, Yoan is hard at work maintaining an online video journal and building a network of support for his move to the big city. He yearns to explore his sexuality and anything that piques his interest. Gabrielle, on the other hand, an exuberant extrovert, is contending with what it means to move away from her friends, family, and farm animals. Filled with nostalgia for a simple life, Gabrielle turns inward, deepening connections with those she cares for, soaking up the last few precious moments.
To be the daughters of accomplished artists is intimidating; there is intrinsic pressure to find one’s own artistic voice. The journey to realize this voice can be a lifelong endeavour, and the courage to experiment becomes the mechanism to cultivate an artistic practice. As a young adult, Jasa is now an interdisciplinary artist working mostly with visuals and images. Her sister Tyr is a classically trained musician, who also provides vocals and cello for their Montreal-based band, Syngja. Their most recent album is inspired by, and features cassette tape recordings of their great-grandmother singing Icelandic folk songs. With its release, they’ve been invited to Iceland as part of an artists residency.
From Palestine to New Zealand to Turtle Island, R2R’s Indigenous Spotlight celebrates tradition expressed in new and thoughtful ways. Dance and song, animation and documentation, even experimentation open a window to these rich and sacred worlds.
Recommended for grades 8-12
Themes: language revitalization, traditional ways of life, poetry, family, spirit worlds
Magical realism, sci-fi, and a dystopian reality offer an escape into the playful and dark depths of the unknown. These short films have won awards all over the world, and invite us to discover the outer limits of the cinematic medium.
Recommended for grades 8-12
Themes: identity, comedy, poetry and folklore, environment, ability, embracing yourself
Magical realism, sci-fi, and a dystopian reality offer an escape into the playful and dark depths of the unknown. These short films have won awards all over the world, and invite us to discover the outer limits of the cinematic medium.
Recommended for grades 8-12
Themes: LGBTQ+, gender identity, Black experience, Indigenous dance and tradition, consent, sexual assault, whiteness friendship, political theory and practice