Creative Space To Improve Gen Z's Ability To Think Critically

JAKARTA - In the digital era like now, teenagers are facing the flow of information that is so fast and varied. Social media, online games, and various digital platforms are not only a means of entertainment, but also affect the way they express themselves.

Opening creative spaces to channel ideas, emotions, and identity is important so that they can understand themselves, learn to communicate, and hone critical thinking skills.

Short films are a fun way for teens to share their ideas and feelings, combine stories, pictures, and music to share experiences in a more personal and creative way.

Expression space for teenage filmmakers is again open through the 2025 HiFFest annual short film event. This year, the festival comes with the theme 'Technology vs Identity', a topic that feels very close to the life of today's generation. How the digital world forms, influences, and even shifts the way teenagers see themselves into a common thread explored by the participants.

Through a series of stories about self-like avatars, digital friends who are always ready to accompany, to social media profiles that seem to demand perfection, young filmmakers are invited to capture important moments when technology intersects with the process of finding identity.

Carrying the tagline 'through the length, stories shaped by you', this festival is a forum for the younger generation to celebrate their unique point of view in the midst of a world that is increasingly interconnected online and offline.

HiFFest, who has entered its 20th year, has again opened the stage for students from various schools. Of the total 15 registrant schools, eight of them managed to advance to the awarding round with their screenshots of the festival. 1. BINUS School Semarang ESCAPE2. SMP Anderson BSD Between the Universe3. SMPIP Baitul Maal Syamil Tidak Mandi4. SMP Dian Didakika SIREN5. School HighScope Indonesia Bali TETAMIAN6. School HighScope Indonesia Denpasar SANGKALAAA7 School. HighScope Indonesia Kelapa Gading School Sempa Sempatan 8. HighScope Indonesia TB Simatupang The Veil of Reality

The series of activities began with Movie Workshop for two days on October 25, 2025, presenting assistance from professional mentors from Karnos Film. The participants took part in the basic class of film production, ranging from production, writing scenarios, acting, editing, to scoring.

After the learning process, all films were screened on Screening Day on November 21, then closed with the Awarding Day on November 29, 2025.

On the top night, eight selected films were judged by four judges from film practitioners, namely Ayushita Nugraha, Priicilla Jamail, Faizal Lubis, and Ario Rubbik. They assess various aspects ranging from stories, appearances of players, to technical strengths.

List of HiFFest Winners in 20251. Best Movie Poster: TETAMIAN2. Best Sound Competition: The Veil of Reality3. Best Live Performance: ESCAPE4. Best Director of Photography: The Veil of Reality5. Best Movie Editor: SIREN6. Best Script Writer: Syamil Doesn't Mandi7. Best Original Soundtrack: ESCAPE8. Best Actor: Syamil Doesn't Mandi9. Best Actress: Inter Universe10. Best Director: Syamil Doesn't Mandi11. Best Movie: Syamil Doesn't Mandi12. Favorite Movie: TETAMIAN13. Favorite Music Video: Falls Time

The enthusiasm of participants can be seen from their experience during the festival.

"We know this competition from our IT teacher, and coincidentally we have a senior who has participated in a film competition. Our preparation can actually be more mature because this is the first time we have made a real short film, before we only made videos for fun," said Sammy and Raffi of BINUS School Semarang.

"Following a competition like this is really a new experience for us. The workshop is very valuable because we get feedback and mentoring from professionals. It really increases our confidence," he added.

The judges also gave high appreciation.

"I was really amazed. Many say that the current generation is easier to make films because of their wide access to resources and information. But seeing that junior high school students are able to produce short films with quality like this, I am truly amazed," said Ayushita Nugraha.

The same support came from Piricilla Jamail who emphasized the importance of consistency in her work.

"The creative industry only works when you continue to work. It's rare for you to come close to it, so you have to keep making works and show the results, be it music, movies, or advertisements. Keep working and keep sharing." he said.

Awarding Day was also enlivened by various music performances from Free, The Syafiks, Horizone, Lovely & Quinn, to the presence of guest stars Basboi who closed the event with full energy.