curated by Enrica Carini and Virginia Carolfi
Every year, Concorto Kids revolves around a specific theme: in 2022, the theme was Reading; in 2023, Visual Arts; in 2024, Environment and Sustainability; in 2025, The Music of the Earth. Concorto Kids 2026 – The Memory of Water is dedicated precisely to WATER, a fundamental element for life, a precious resource, and a universal symbol spanning nature, history, myths, the arts, and cinematic narratives.
The theme is explored through a variety of perspectives:
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Water as a common good: sustainability, resource protection, climate change;
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Water as origin: ancient seas, biodiversity, the birth of life;
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Water as landscape: rivers, lakes, seas, and territories to discover and protect;
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Water as imagination: stories, sounds, music, cinema, and animation;
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Water as a sensory experience: listening, movement, sound, hands-on activities.
Through hands-on activities and shared viewing sessions, children are guided to develop environmental awareness, a sense of responsibility, and curiosity towards the natural world, in line with the goals of Agenda 2030 and the principles of sustainability education. Concorto Kids 2026 – The Memory of Water is made possible by Fondazione di Piacenza e Vigevano, Iren – Comitato Territoriale di Piacenza, and Comune di Piacenza.
This year, Concorto Kids becomes a competition! The award for the best short film, voted for by the young film buffs, is sponsored by Fonte Plose.
All the details can be found here.
The selected shorts
curated by Enrica Carini and Virginia Carolfi
A Pain In The Butt di Elena Walf, Germania, 2025, animazione, 6’
América di Javier Arias-Stella, Perù, 2025, fiction, 15’
Amen di Orphée Coutier, Bettina Demarty, Kimie Maingonnat, Laurène Perego, Louise Poulain, Avril Zundel Francia, 2024, animazione, 6’
Chère Fin, (Dear End,) di Khéma Cousin, Lien Franckel, Laora Le Boursicot, Alissende Masson, Joséphine Mounier di Clément Saden, Francia, 2025, fiction, animazione, 8’
Dancing In The Rain di Chao-chun Yeh, Giappone, Taiwan, 2025, animazione, 6’
Drops di Karsten Kjærulf-Hoop, Danimarca, 2017, animazione, 5’
Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe! di Andrea Szelesová, Repubblica Ceca, Slovacchia, 2026, animazione, 13’
Experiencing And Learning. And Parenting di Malgorzata Rybak, Polonia, 2025, animazione, 5’
In Un Mondo Di Lana A Passo Di Valzer di Rita Gherardi, Italia, 2025/2026, animazione stop motion, 16’
Krake di Regina Welker, Germania, 2012, animazione, 9’
L’Aigle et le Roitelet (The Eagle and the Kinglet) di Paul Jadoul, Belgio, Francia, 2025, animazione, 6’
Nils Karlsson Pyssling (Simon Small) di Yaprak Morali & Are Austnes, Norvegia, Svezia, Danimarca, 2024, animazione, 4’
Outremer di Hadrien Bonnet, Adrien Calle, Francia, 2017, animazione, 4’
Pic Nic di Anna Amosova, Russia, 2021, animazione, 4’
Reading Between The Lines di Jochen Rall, Svizzera, 2025, animazione, 6’
Rivière Glacée di Marion Jamault, Francia, 2026, animazione, 5’
Some Thing di Elena Walf, Germania, 2015, animazione, 7’
The Sky Was Candy di Anh Tu Nguyen, Germania, 2025, animazione, 3’
Virtuos Virtuelle di Thomas Stellmach, Maja Oschmann, Germania, 2013, sperimentale, 7’
Volles Nest di Elena Walf, Germania, 2025, animazione, 5’
Reviews by Virginia Carolfi
A Pain In The Butt by Elena Walf, Germany, 2025
A thorn in the bottom is a very annoying thing, especially when you are being chased by the owner of the pointy object in question. But what if things were not quite as dramatic as they seem?
América by Javier Arias-Stella, Peru, 2025
América is always late for school – and right there, a sense of solidarity kicks in. Truth be told, it is rarely her fault, as she lives miles away and has to deal with an unsympathetic father. A bicycle could solve many problems, but where to find the money? A film that is delicate and subtly rebellious, dotted with enviable headwear.
Amen by Orphée Coutier, Bettina Demarty, Kimie Maingonnat, Laurène Perego, Louise Poulain, Avril Zundel, France, 2024
Life is sweet for a piglet lovingly raised in a convent… sweet up to a point. When a piglet discovers the fate awaiting him and his companions, the rebellion begins. A hilarious short film about a topic that is anything but hilarious.
Chère Fin (Dear End) by Khéma Cousin, Lien Franckel, Laora Le Boursicot, Alissende Masson, Joséphine Mounier, Clément Saden, France, 2025
The postman of the sea is approaching retirement, and on this final work trip, he bids farewell to all the characters to whom he has delivered mail over long years. An aquatic animation, highly elegant and moving, as fluid as water.
Dancing In The Rain by Chao-chun Yeh, Japan, Taiwan, 2025
Exhausted by the heat, a young girl dreams of a flooded Taipei governed by dancing mice. Amongst the funniest and wildest short films this year, it is a plunge into Oriental aesthetics and melancholy lightness.
Drops by Karsten Kjærulf-Hoop, Denmark, 2017
The adventure of a water droplet experienced firsthand, complete with a plot twist: are we certain that every droplet wants to go back to being a cloud? Watercolour drawings and admirable Nordic synthesis for a short film that transforms a scientific concept into an adventure.
Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe! by Andrea Szelesová, Czech Republic, Slovakia, 2026
Could a short film on Greek mythology be missing in the year of the Odyssey?
This time, the offspring of the gods take centre stage, and we discover that childhood is the same even on Mount Olympus: bullies, misunderstandings, misfits. And so, a little sun god finds his place far from home, among humans.
Experiencing And Learning. And Parenting by Malgorzata Rybak, Poland, 2025
How difficult it is to be a child in a world of adults: Rybak’s short film is “shot” at a child’s eye level, so we only glimpse legs and shoes. We cannot understand what they are saying at all, much like in the Peanuts cartoons; the protagonist gives it her all and, in the end, she will learn.
In Un Mondo Di Lana A Passo Di Valzer (In a World of Wool at a Waltz Pace) by Rita Gherardi, Italy, 2025/2026
A delightfully delicate stop-motion animation takes us to the banks of a river to discover the comical adventures of a group of woodland creatures. Set to the waltzes of the Strauss family, little stories flow just like mountain streams.
Krake by Regina Welker, Germany, 2012
It happens to everyone to feel strange at times, as if someone were inhabiting our mind and troubling our thoughts. The protagonist of this animation makes friends with the creature living inside her, perhaps giving it a little too much familiarity.
L’Aigle et le Roitelet (The Eagle and the Kinglet) by Paul Jadoul, Belgium, France, 2025
The kinglet is a microscopic yet feisty bird; the protagonist of stories and legends across all European cultures, in this short film he steps up to challenge even an eagle. In a masterfully animated story reminiscent of David and Goliath, our little kinglet proves that size is not what makes a king.
Nils Karlsson Pyssling (Simon Small) by Yaprak Morali & Are Austnes, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, 2024
Following the much-loved The Tomten and the Fox screened in 2022 for the first edition of Concorto Kids, Yaprak Morali returns to Concorto with a new film once again inspired by a story by Astrid Lindgren. Nils Karlsson Pyssling is a magical creature like the Tomte, and here too he speaks to us of friendship and unexpected bonds.
Outremer by Hadrien Bonnet, Adrien Calle, France, 2017
Water is the protagonist of this edition of Concorto Kids, and the sea is the ultimate aquatic element. There are those who go to the seaside to have fun and those who must cross it to escape violence and poverty – but the journey undertaken is certainly not a pleasant one.
Pic Nic by Anna Amosova, Russia, 2021
A sweet woodland animation in which a simple picnic becomes the trigger for a series of funny and unexpected adventures, especially for the human involved.
Reading Between The Lines by Jochen Rall, Switzerland, 2025
An exceptionally elegant animation that takes us between the lines of a newspaper: boundaries dissolve, news slips into sports, models wave to each other from page 8 to page 16, trains cross plains made of letters, and we have a wonderful time.
Rivière Glacée by Marion Jamault, France, 2026
Can you talk about evolution in 5 minutes? Yes, and Marion Jamault does it brilliantly! The director of Filante gives us another gem where the eye is captivated by the animation, the ear by the soundtrack, and the mind dances alongside Charles Darwin.
Some Thing by Elena Walf, Germany, 2015
Gold, metals, precious stones, oil – the grand mountains show off their resources and mock the small hill whose only treasure is a seed. But in the long run, the true worth of a resource will prove to be quite different.
The Sky Was Candy by Anh Tu Nguyen, Germany, 2025
How do you describe a child’s day? Perhaps with a kaleidoscope of images, a smoothie of sensations, affections, objects, colours, stars, curiosity, discoveries, disappointments, and happiness. Three minutes of pure joy.
Virtuos Virtuelle by Thomas Stellmach, Maja Oschmann, Germany, 2013
This short film simply asks us to let our eyes and minds travel as they follow the watercolours born from the notes of the overture to Louis Spohr’s The Alchymist.
Volles Nest by Elena Walf, Germany, 2025
How wonderful it is to have a warm and cosy nest welcoming us on rainy days! The squirrel is very pleased, but upon noticing the flood threatening a colony of little mice, he realises that the best nest is one that shelters friends in need.
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