NANOOK DOCU KIDS: Transforming classrooms across Spain into a window to the world
A report by VerĂłnica Pastrana
In a socially complex context marked by polarization, misinformation, rising rates of bullying, and the excessive use of screens, social media, and artificial intelligence, the Nanook Docu Kids Documentary Film Festival brings real-life stories into classrooms, to create spaces for dialogue, participation, and reflection through the language of documentary film – a genre as close to everyday life as it is unfamiliar to students.
This year marked the second edition of the event, and the founders behind the initiative are planning to continue its work in Spain while exploring opportunities to bring Nanook to other countries.
Nanook Docu Kids is based on a fundamental premise: if we want children and young people to develop critical thinking, empathy, and social awareness, they need to talk openly about the issues that affect them, broaden their view of the world, and put their own reality into perspective; they need to speak up and know that their experiences and opinions matter. The Festival transforms the classroom into that space, while also fostering media literacy and helping students develop their own critical judgment regarding the content they consume every day.
Verónica Pastrana, director of Nanook, describes: “From its very first edition in 2025, Nanook Docu Kids set out to be not just a festival, but an educational tool for fostering a more critical and engaged citizenry from an early age, integrating emotional education and mental health as essential dimensions of that process.”
A Methodology: WATCH, DISCUSS, and VOTE
In 2025, more than 5,200 children and young people participated. In the festival’s second edition, held from March 2 to 13, 2026, the number of participants doubled: more than 12,500 students from preschool through high school at schools across all of Spain’s autonomous communities signed up to serve as jurors. Yes, as jurors, as part of Nanook Docu Kids’ unique methodology: WATCH, DISCUSS, and VOTE.
This is the concept of NANOOK DOCU KIDS: School students aged 3 to 17 watch high-quality international documentaries featuring girls and boys their own age from different parts of the world, reaffirming the essence of Nanook: diverse, resilient, creative, independent children and young people with their own voices are the protagonists both on and off the screen. In 2026, documentaries from the Netherlands, Taiwan, Germany, Colombia, Belgium, Bangladesh, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Ukraine were featured, among them many films from the PRIX JEUNESSE INTERNATIONAL library.
All the short films are produced by professionals. They are organized into categories based on each grade level. Viewing takes place in the classrooms via an online platform created by Nanook, where the documentaries can be accessed in their original language with Spanish subtitles (VOSE).
Afterward, the students discuss the films with their classmates using teaching guides designed by the Festival’s educational team. Following the discussion, they cast their votes to select the winning films. It is the festival with the largest jury of children and young people in Spain.
The Festival establishes an innovative model in which students take on an active role in the social and cultural process – not merely as spectators, but as decision-makers. This approach reinforces the idea that audiovisual education is not limited to the consumption of content, but also includes interpretation, reasoning, listening to other opinions, and taking a critical stance toward them.
Nanook Docu Kids is organized by the audiovisual production company Patito in partnership with PRIX JEUNESSE INTERNATIONAL. Patito funds the project through a grant for impact projects from the Spanish Ministry of Culture and its own resources. The second edition also benefited from collaboration with the Complutense University of Madrid, the Zola Foundation, Women Leaders in Education Foundation and DOCMA (Spanish Documentary Film Association).
Behind the programming and organization is an international team committed to children and youth: Aldana Duhalde (Argentina) and Mariana Cano (Mexico) as programmers; Yamile Sandoval (Colombia) coordinating methodology and education; Kirsten Schneid from PRIX JEUNESSE providing cross-functional support; Jon Pittaluga, producer and tech developer; and Dr. Patricia Núñez of the Complutense University of Madrid (UCM), leading the impact assessment study, among other key collaborators.
What is planned for 2027 and beyond??
Looking ahead, Nanook aims to develop pilot projects outside Spain, with its team working alongside local partners to adapt the initiative to new educational contexts. Support from companies, professionals and institutions will be important in making these experiences possible and strengthening the festival’s long-term sustainability. Through these collaborations, Nanook hopes to build on its work in Spain and bring documentary film and opportunities for dialogue to more children and young people.