The Submarine program, featuring films, workshops and more

The 22nd International Film Festival Kino Izola – Isola Cinema returns to Izola from June 10 to 14, 2026, along with Submarine, the festival’s program for children, youth, and families. This year’s selection of films presents stories about children and young people living in diverse family situations as they search for their place in the community and the world; the adventurous lives and courage of the young protagonists serve as an inspiration for both young and adult viewers. The Submarine program, which traditionally takes place over the weekend, offers not only film screenings but also free creative workshops and themed walks.

Saturday adventure with a film-archaeology walk and a juggling workshop

On Saturday, June 13, at 10 a.m., at the JSKD Izola premises, we’ll kick off with the animated film series How It Grows … 3 (Ema Muc, Slovenia, 2026, 4+) about the wonders of growth in the natural world, and we’ll continue the cinematic experience immediately after the screening with an animation workshop.

We’ll then head to the House of culture, where the animated film Mary Anning (Marcel Barelli, Switzerland, Belgium, 2025, 7+) will be screened at 10 a.m. It is based on the true story of the inquisitive 12-year-old Mary Anning, who defied the norms of her time and later became one of the first female scientists. Her research made significant contributions to our understanding of evolution, and her story inspires others to follow their own curiosity and interests. After the screening, young explorers, accompanied by experts, will embark on a film-archaeological walk, searching for traces of the past in the hidden corners of Izola.

At 1:00 p.m., the documentary Home Is the Ocean (Livia Vonaesch, Switzerland, 2024) will be screened. The film follows a family with six children living on a sailboat; the filmmaker documented their life at sea for seven years. The film will be introduced before the screening by young programmers from Elvira Vatovec Prade Primary School, who also selected it for the program.

At 4:00 p.m., we’ll wrap up Saturday’s Submarine program at the Cultural Center with the documentary Circusboy (Julia Lemke, Anna Koch, Germany, 2025, 8+)—based on the true story of Santino, a boy growing up in a lively traveling circus family—which was awarded Best Children’s Documentary by the European Children’s Film Association (ECFA). After the screening, the audience will have the opportunity to try their hand at a juggling workshop led by experienced instructors. The film will also be shown on Sunday, June 14, at 4:30 p.m. at Kinodvor in Ljubljana.

Sunday seaside walks and the bold perspectives of young programmers

On Sunday, June 14, at 10 a.m. at the House of culture, we’ll kick off the Submarine program with the enchanting film Lampie (Margien Rogaar, Netherlands, 2024, 10+) about a girl who lives with her father in a lighthouse; after the film, visitors will set off on a cinematic seaside stroll along the Izola coast.

At 1 p.m., there will be a presentation of a special historical selection curated by young programmers: the cult film Daisies (Sedmikrásky, 1966) by Czech director Věra Chytilová and the legendary experimental short film Gratinated Brains of Pupilija Ferkeverk (Karpo Godina, Slovenia, 1970). As part of their collaboration with the Slovenian Cinematheque, young programmers aged 15 and older have selected a pair of films for the first time this year; they will briefly introduce the films before the screening and then discuss them with director and cinematographer Karpo Godina. They will also premiere their own experimental video, which they created inspired by Daisies.

The screenings of the films Lampie and Circusboy are part of the European project The Film Corner, aimed at developing innovative tools for film literacy for a broad target audience, ranging from children aged 8 to young people up to 29 years old and beyond. With the support of the Creative Europe program, MEDIA sub-program. The program is co-funded by the European Commission.

We are organizing the young programmers’ activities as part of the European project Young Programmers for Young Audiences! The Network of European Film Festivals (or Young4Film for short), supported by the EU’s Creative Europe MEDIA program, takes place at film festivals in six European countries.

The content of the The Film Corner and Young4Film projects is the sole responsibility of the authors and in no way reflects the views of the European Commission.