In January 2024, on the occasion of Fipadoc - International Documentary Festival in Biarritz (France) the Fipadoc Campus renewed its commitment to screening documentary films to secondary and high school students in order to enable encounters, pass on knowledge, and encourage reflection and practice around documentary cinema in schools.

The two feature-length films we have selected as part of our Docs4Teens path take up the challenge of depicting young characters based on their environments. By choosing to seize a place, to show a territory and to depict different ways of inhabiting a space, the 2 films tell us stories anchored in specific contexts.

While the gentle family atmosphere and warmth of friendships in which Girls' Stories immerses us may seem worlds away from the sounds of war heard in the background of We Will Not Fade Away, both films reveal what links the young characters together despite their circumstances. They remind us how difficult it is to grow up, to leave behind the carefree days of childhood for the beginnings of adult life. But they show that through determination and camaraderie, it is possible to overcome the greatest obstacles.