With more than a hundred members in attendance, ECFA held its Annual General Meeting in Berlin on February 14. This AGM took on extra importance because an ongoing transition process was discussed, initiated due to the retirement of Felix Vanginderhuysen from his long-held position of ECFA’s figurehead (informal) and Secretary-General (official). This is a crucial moment for the organisation, when new individuals must take over the work he has done for such a long time.
During the AGM, the Board presented its decisions and actions to address this issue, and members had the opportunity to discuss challenges and opportunities honestly.
In a moving moment, Felix Vanginderhuysen emphasised how his entire life has been defined by his participation in the children’s film community: “These 48 years have been a long journey with ups and downs. Without children’s films, I wouldn’t have traveled around the world, and I wouldn’t have met all those wonderful people, some of whom were with us from the very beginning, and some of whom are no longer with us.”
In 2026, ECFA plans to proceed with the transition, initiate planning for the Workshop Warehouse 2027, continue the communication restructuring, and maintain its standard activities (databases, ECFA Awards, Academic Committee, etc.).
Afterwards, the ECFA Awards 2026 were presented during the Party of the Children’s Film Scene, in collaboration with BJF (of which retiring Managing Director Reinhold Schöffel was honored), Förderverein Deutscher Kinderfilm, and the SCHLiNGEL festival.
Photo’s: SCHLINGEL Festival