European Children's
Film Association
Association Européenne du Cinéma
pour l'Enfance et la Jeunesse
Now THE MAGICIANS, a father-and-son story with dazzling as well as clumsy conjuring acts started touring European festivals, Joram Lürsen is preparing his next feature: ALFIE THE WEREWOLF. “It’s about coming out of the close.” Continue reading “Interview with Joram Lürsen (THE MAGICIANS, ALFIE THE WEREWOLF)”
For 17 years, up till 2002, Renate Zylla was director of the Berlinale’s Kinderfilmfest. Then she broadened her horizon, taking out her talents to various Asian festivals. Nowadays working as a festival agent, she guarantees productions a perfect representation abroad. Who could have a better insight in the present-day children’s film festival landscape? Continue reading “Renate Zylla: “The festival landscape in North America and Asia evolves in a fast rate””
With PLODDY THE POLICE CAR MAKES A SPLASH Neofilm has a successful animated feature running in Norwegian theatres. But with ‘Pelle’ (Ploddy) as a well-known Norwegian hero in the title role, we asked producer Aage Aaberge what elements could be used to promote the film outside its home country? Continue reading “Interview with Producer Aage Aaberge (PLODDY THE POLICE CAR MAKES A SPLASH)”
“I’m not fed up with Karla. But her story is told now; I’m done with her.” While KARLA & JONAS is touring the festivals, director Charlotte Sachs Bostrup looks back upon the Karla trilogy. Continue reading “Interview with Charlotte Sachs Bostrup (the KARLA trilogy)”
The Indian film I AM KALAM (by Nila Madhab Panda) manages easily to get round the European festival audiences. The film won several awards and got a warm welcome in London, Giffoni, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Vienna, Oulu, Copenhagen… The story about little Chhotu (common name for an Indian child laborer) who wants to go to school but ends up as a worker in a dhaba (an open roadside restaurant) sparkles and sputters in a million colors, as it is set in photogenic Rajasthan. Continue reading “Interview with Nila Madhab Panda (I AM KALAM)”
He is a director, she is a producer and together they’re the Filmbin team. After a series of short films, Christian Lo and Trine Aadalen Lo are now presenting their first feature. RAFIKI, still keeping alive the sparkles that were so distinctive for ‘Baluba Runa’, ‘Ramp’ and ‘Iver’, tells about 3 best friends trying to save one of them from being sent back to her African home country. With no other clue than an address, Julie and Mette sneak onto the night train, trying to find their friend Naima. Continue reading “INTERVIEW WITH CHRISTIAN LO & TRINE AADALEN LO (RAFIKI)”
“I’m an actor; I like to talk,” Åsleik Engmark says. He is also a Director, so he knows what to talk about: about KNERTEN! His film debut is the most successful children’s film in years in Norway. The film will be released in Denmark, Sweden, Finland, The Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Estonia… and a few more countries are on the waiting list. Continue reading “INTERVIEW WITH ÅSLEIK ENGMARK (KNERTEN)”
THE RACE tells about an Irish farming family collapsing while 11 year old daughter Mary is trying to make her dream come true: driving a go-kart and winning a race. Something she can only do with the support of her father, a grumpy farmer with enough problems of his own: agricultural crisis, his wife applying for a divorce and the sudden decline of fatherly authority. The film by André F. Nebe, starring debuting Niamh McGirr and Hollywood star Colm Meany as her father, is a true European co-production. Continue reading “Film in the Focus: André F. Nebe’s THE RACE”