August 7, 2025
Justice at Last! Exciting Court Cases as Short Films
At the 2026 Bavarian Children’s & Youth Film Festival in Augsburg, teenagers and young adults created films on the special theme of justice
A Thief shows off his loot Social Media.
One Dress Code is causing a stir.
One Climate Protest is threatening to escalate.
A Electric Scooter on Off course.
For this year's Bavarian Children's & Youth Festival, from July 23–26, 2026 In Augsburg, the Forum Recht Foundation participated in a workshop on the topic of „justice.“ The cases prepared by the foundation’s team each dealt with a different court decision from everyday life. The task of the young filmmakers The assignment was to adapt one of the cases into a film in small groups. A legal staff member and a member of the outreach team were on hand to assist with questions regarding the content.
The groups were made up of film festival participants, all of whom had experience in filmmaking. During the afternoon workshop, they developed their own concepts at an astonishing pace based on the provided case studies, shot all the planned scenes—some in a single take—and handled the post-production. In the process, Thirteen humorous and creative short films were created and subsequently edited together into a single film.
The BKJFF had already produced short sequences in advance in which the cases are presented verbatim by a fictional judge. These sequences were either edited into the respective short film beforehand or added as a voice-over to the short film. The Full-Length Film was presented to an enthusiastic audience on the evening of July 25.
The prepared cases allowed the young people to take an almost playful approach. The groups’ artistic engagement with the legal cases and the corresponding court rulings gave the young filmmakers insight into what justice looks like in court. It also encouraged them to reflect on whether they themselves found the rulings to be just.
You can watch a compilation of the thirteen short films here
About the Festival
Since 1989, the BKJFF has provided a platform for young filmmakers up to age 26. The Bavarian Children’s & Youth Film Festival is organized by the JFF - Institute for Media Education and the Bavarian Youth Association and other partners every two years at different locations. The festival serves as a forum for children’s and youth film groups in Bavaria. It showcases the best films by children, teenagers, and young adults from the regional district festivals. The film „Jetzt erst (ge)rechht“ is a project of the Forum Recht Foundation, the JFF – Institute for Media Education, and the Bavarian Youth Ring. It was produced as part of the festival’s supporting program and was not entered in the competition.