Kwak Nohyun, Chairman of the BIKY Festival

“We respect the uniqueness of each and every child”

For me, the BIKY festival in Busan, South-Korea, opens the gateway to Asia, to Korean cuisine (which looks even more exotic in Busan than elsewhere in the country), to Korean hospitality, urbanisation, severe weather conditions and a smoke-free city. But does the festival also open the gateway to Asian cinema for children?

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Ludmila Cvikova about the CINEDU Festival

“Children’s films were simply another world”

The Slovak CINEDU festival for children & youth might be a relatively new event on the international calendar, but festival director Ludmila Cvikova is not a rookie. For 15 years, Cvikova has been programmer for the Int’l Film Festival Rotterdam, she has served as advisor to some of Europe’s leading festivals like Karlovy Vary and Locarno, and has been Head of Programming for the Doha Film Institute. Seven years ago, she jumped off the merry-go-round of big festivals and engaged in a small-scale event in a different segment of the film industry: young audience cinema. 

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Interview with the Ukrainian Veselka Children’s TV Studio

Dina Ibrahimova, Head of the Children’s TV Studio Veselka (“Rainbow”) is a well-known personality in the Ukrainian children’s television industry. Cheerful, optimistic and always in for friendly advice. Educated as a teacher, she founded the project in 2005. In 2014, the studio was forced to leave the tumultuous East-Ukrainian city of Luhansk and relocate to Kyiv. It took time and effort for Veselka to shine again in all its colours. But sometimes history repeats itself. Like on the morning of 24 February 2022… 

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MAKE SOME NoJSe: Connecting Nordic children’s film festivals

NOJSE is a story of cooperation, a story of sharing and exchange. In NOJSE five Nordic festivals have found each other, and with extra funding from Creative Europe came new opportunities, and an extended structure for cooperation. We spoke with representatives of three out of the five participating festivals: Daniel Lundquist (BUFF, Sweden), Mika Anttolainen (Oulu Festival, Finland) and Mariella Harpelunde Jensen (Buster, Denmark), the latter currently coordinating most of the NOJSE activities. What is NOJSE, how will it influence the Nordic festival landscape and how will results be visible on a European scale?

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HANNEKE & FIET wins at CINEKID Co-Production Market

During CINEKID for Professionals, the international Industry programme for youth media in Amsterdam, the prestigious Filmmore Post-Production Award for Best Live Action Project in Development went to HANNEKE & FIET. Once again, the Dutch successful duo consisting of screenwriter Tamara Bos and director Mischa Kamp (WINKY’S HORSE, ROMY’S SALON) has a story in hand that will move and excite audiences around the world.

 

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Hugo P. Thomas about JUNIORS

“This is how I experienced my teenage years: shockingly brutal”

Why does everyone want to go on holiday to those charming French villages? Jordan and Patrick live there and they are bored to death. Now even their PlayStation console – faithful companion in gloomy moments – is letting them down. They come up with a brilliant plan: Jordan will pretend to be severely ill and launch an online campaign to make his last wish come true: a PlayStation 5. The plan seems to work, but the lie turns against them with a force that they couldn’t foresee.

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Froukje Tan about KUNG FU LION

“The real leader must take the back seat”

Two frustrated teenage boys train at the same Kung Fu school. Jimmy is on the verge of becoming a troublemaker, eager to use his Kung Fu for power and prestige. His ego is bruised when Li Jie joins the school – the new kid in town has great martial arts skills. To curb their rivalry, the shifu pairs them together to perform as part of a prestigious lion dance ceremony, a traditional symbol of good luck and prosperity. 

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