Youth 4 German Cinema 2026

Youth 4 German Cinema, now in its 13th year, is an educational initiative of Step into German and the Berlin & Beyond Film Festival, connecting middle school and high school aged students with contemporary German films and filmmakers. Youth 4 German Cinema has brought youth jury members from across the US, Canada, Mexico, and Central America to the festival, and through the years has shown films to over 7,000 visiting students.

This year’s youth jurors are:

• Camara von Hahn, Vancouver, Ccnada 
• Jennifer Alas, California, USA
• Brody Leiknes, Minnesota, USA 
• Dinoraths Rubio Reyes, Hidalgo, Mexico

The Youth 4 German Cinema jury chose Mia Maariel Meyer’s “22 Lengths” as the 2026 winning film.

Impressions from the stay in San Francisco (March 2026)

Travel & Accommodation 

A very exclusive and grand opportunity: Each participant will be provided roundtrip airfare to San Francisco, accommodation and food. 

Juror Duties 

Participants will form the Youth 4 German Cinema jury. They will screen selected German films online (with English subtitles), engage in discussions, and choose one film to be shown at the festival. 

As Part of the Film Festival Experience, Participants will

• Present the Youth 4 German Cinema Awards and play an active role in an onstage Q&A with talents from the winning films. 
• Walk the red carpet and go behind-the-scenes of North America’s largest festival of contemporary German cinema. 
• Attend an exclusive workshop by a film arts professional. 
• Visit one of the world’s most exciting cities: San Francisco! 

Participation in this program will not only make a great addition on the student’s resumes and college applications, it will also allow students to learn the fundamentals of film analysis, film production, and how to network and make connections for future endeavors. 

Youth 4 German Cinema 

Youth 4 German Cinema takes high-school students backstage for a glimpse into the workings of the international film festival Berlin & Beyond. In doing so, students are introduced to the German language cinema landscape and learn about filmmaking, film criticism and international films as a whole. Through the years, this program has shown films to over 7,000 visiting students. 

Chosen from a pool of applications from across the US, Canada, Central America and the Caribbean, Youth 4 German Cinema allows select high-school students to participate in and to go behind the scenes of an international film festival; to meet industry professionals; to participate in artistic workshops; and to increase their cross-cultural awareness. Finally, they also help select the two winning films which are screened at the festival for hundreds of visiting students from across the San Francisco Bay Area and Northern California.