The Non Didactic Universe

Pioneering Real Stories and Non-Scripted Content for Todays’ Savvy Young Minds.

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Annette_Brejner mbrane

Founder & Creative Director Annette Brejner says:

– The European Science Film Association is a valued partner for m:brane and the natural choice for guidance for our next step of m:brane’s Non Didactic Universe section. Launching a sharp, direct, yet elevated program in 2025—with a stellar keynote speaker and an inspiring panel session—is a testament to the wealth of knowledge, network, and critical thinking Christine Reisen, with ESFA’s support, has brought to us. This collaboration has been both a joy and a necessity, enriching our understanding of science communication. By blending program design with our passion and expertise in engaging young audiences, we believe we’ve together has begun something truly beautiful and enduring. We eagerly anticipate further collaboration.

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Vice-Chair of European Science Film Association
Christine Reisen says:

– Teaming up with m:brane by co-programming the Non-Didactic Universe is one of the current activities with these objectives in mind. Among others, some of the invited panelists are members, their works have been communicated through the association and shown at several of the member festivals. A couple of board members are also attending the event. The two partnering organizations are convinced that they pursue common goals on the ground of shared values.

The Program unfolds March 12th:
Inspiring keynote, a slate of innovative non-scripted projects in development for young audiences will be pitched in conjunction herewith – embracing feedback panels with experts and youth experts on stage.
Plus the panel: Diving into the Unknown and Unseen: Science for the Senses.

The Non Didactic Universe© is an umbrella under which the two m:brane initiatives m:brane Learning© and REALYOUNG© is brought together to go hand in hand with the aim to reinforce our efforts to lift non scripted content for young savvy audiences.The initiative 2025 is designed in collaboration with ESFA and Paradiddle Pictures.

m:brane, the industry forum for content for young audiences, is now launching our new initiative The Non Didactic Universe. It is a curated program running through both the industry sessions and the pitching forum at m:brane.

The Non Didactic Universe brings together a carefully chosen collection of projects, makers and thinkers who represent new dimensions in reflecting how we can collectively address younger audiences. We ask ourselves what it means to be re-wired in a positive way, and how we can look at this with common humanist values.

In the upcoming 2025 industry program and project selection for m:brane, you find The Non Didactic Universe interwoven in the lineup of industry sessions as well as in the projects being pitched at the forum. In the spirit of non-scripted and non-didactic approaches, we present a glimpse of cases from the universe of smart projects and their makers. One way or another – loud or subtle – they incorporate thoughts, issues, topics or ways of storytelling that emphasize the emblem of what m:brane The Non Didactic Universe is.

m:brane’s initiative’s REALYOUNG© and m:brane Learning© now goes hand in hand under the new umbrella.

REALYOUNG© was started to raise awareness and strengthen development possibilities for documentaries for young audiences. Resting from the beginning in 2015 on forces deeply rooted in the documentary community and with experience from both producing, financing and distributing documentaries internationally. To the mix we added Youth Experts, who were trained and prepared for the task by us. They have played a decisive role ever since – and still more to come.

In 2022 we launched m:brane Learning© for projects that via great storytelling for multiple screens and immersive focused on topics derived from science research. Innovative projects, that had intensions of making factual based challenging content for savvy young audiences.

We are thrilled to look forward to submissions within both fields and to select the brightest projects for pitch at the forum 2025.

These pitching projects will be embedded within inspirational sessions, to be announced in January.

We look forward to welcome decision makers, participants and panelists from the world of documentary and science.

Embedded within this philosophy is our core identity, expressed in our name, m:brane.

We are serving a sophisticated demographic group in the population: Savvy Young Audiences – and therefore we curate the event, so that it harmonizes with smart, innovative, intelligent content both in our industry sessions and via a highly curated selection of projects, looking for development advice, alliances and financing.

What: m:brane’s ambition is to create a strong link between smart content creatives and the needs spun out of the science community’s so called third task – The third task is the task of colleges and universities to share knowledge, in addition to the first two main tasks, education and research.

Why: The Science Community is obliged to share their research, knowledge and findings. However often this has to be done with very limited access to funding, knowhow, network and audience/segment insight. Which creates a risk that the information does not reach the public. And as we focus on Young Audiences, those who will inherit and take over the Society we have created, the loss of knowledge transfer can in the worst case scenario, become damaged

How: Storytelling in Science Communication often turns out to be the crucial difference, whether or not the topic and research will inspire the public, promote understanding of science, and engage the public more deliberately in science.

Storytellers can help scientists find an approachable way to communicate their research to a wider target audience and through storytelling reach a larger number of people.

When scientists and visual content makers collaborate, content with a high quality can be created. This can benefit not only the involved partner as such, but also the European democratic Societies we live in, as it will evoke critical thinking, reflective mind sets and cognitive stimulation.