Measuring Magic:

A Conversation on the Significance of Children’s Cinema Culture

As a long-time partner of m:brane and, above all, co-initiator of the Opening Industry Day, KIDS Regio is once again involved in this year’s programme. In tune with our mission, we are dedicating ourselves to a topic that has been burning under our nails for a long time: the cultural recognition of children’s film.

For all those who do not know us yet a brief Introduction. KIDS Regio presents a lobby initiative for high quality and multi-faceted European Children’s Films. It functions as an agent between policy and society, the film industry and the scientific world in order to form a network and discuss new synergies. We are operating under the roof of the German Children’s Media Foundation Golden Sparrow and are a subgroup of Cine Regio, the European network of regional film funds.

In our line of work we have all very likely experienced a lack of appreciation towards children’s film or working for young audiences in general. It is high time to discuss the reasons and how to go forward as an industry working for the young audience.

There are several aspects that we need to take into consideration. We are usually looking at limited budgets for production and especially marketing which makes it increasingly hard to compete on a global market. But it is not only about the money. The industry is also challenged by a lack of emphasis on promoting talents and providing incentives for them to create for children and young people.

Obviously, there is a limitation to the audience that can be reached in the first place due to a much smaller part of the population being under 14 than above. If you take this into account, it immediately jumps to mind that it seems unfair to use box-office results as a success factor here.

But how can success be measured? Where are the differences to other parts of culture and also to the rest of the film industry and why? Who do we need to talk to about this?

Join KIDS Regio project manager Anne Schultka for a thought-provoking discussion on the cultural recognition of children’s films and how success can be measured beyond the box office! Anne will navigate the discussion through the challenges faced by local children’s films, the importance of promoting cultural diversity in cinema, and get insights on innovative ways to measure the impact and success of these films. Get ready to be inspired and learn more about the power of children’s films and their ability to shape the future of cinema. Don’t miss this chance to be a part of a meaningful conversation on the future of film!

Anne Schultka started her job as project manager at KIDS Regio in April 2018 and became member of the board of the German Children’s Film Association in 2022. With the Association and in cooperation with Film University Babelsberg Konrad Wolf she published a research report on “Children in Film Culture” in 2021. She holds an MA in Media Management and a BA in Intercultural Studies, Psychology and Economy. Prior to her work at KIDS Regio she already worked for both the German Children’s Media Foundation and the German Children’s Film Association as well as research assistant at Bauhaus-University.

Anne Schultka will be Moderating this programme point

Rikke Flodin is a partner and anthropologist at audience insights at PUBLIKUM.io, a Danish-based tool for audience awareness. She has worked with more than 40 film projects across Europe, helping provide filmmakers with audience awareness in the shape of deep, human insights in their creative development from early idea to final script. Rikke has specialized in how to reach the children and youth audience groups using digital tools and anthropological methods to facilitate the conversations with the young audience and to ensure relevance in a very competitive audiovisual landscape fighting for this audience’s attention.

Daniel Ehrenberg is a Berlin- and Bonn-based producer with more than twenty-five years of experience in the industry. After graduating from Hamburg University with an MA in Film Studies, History and Political Science, he started his producing career at Warner Bros. Pictures Germany. In 2018, Daniel launched Eyrie Entertainment, a vibrant production company that focuses on crossover and arthouse films from exciting and diverse new talent. In 2022 Eyrie Entertainment’s first production has been released by Warner Bros. in German cinemas: THE PATH a moving WWII adventure/drama. The film travelled festivals worldwide and won several awards, among them the City of Malmö Children’s Film Award at BUFF Malmö 2022, two Golden Sparrow Awards at German Children’s Media Festival “Goldener Spatz” and the German Film Award for Best Children’s Film 2022.

Antonia Prochaska is the head of film education at the Austrian Film Academy. She teaches media education at the University of Arts Linz, holds a degree in experimental art, and is a trained media educator. For the past two years, she has developed educational materials for the European Film Academy’s Young Audience Award, and is currently initiating a network for film education in Austria. Her focus is not only on promoting film education, but also on exploring the connection between film, diversity, and sustainability.