Since 2009, KIDS Regio acts within Cine-Regio and presents a lobby initiative for high quality and multi-faceted European Children’s Films. A key focus of the 2024 KIDS Regio Forum, and an outcome of previous Forums, has been the need for more research and data. In partnership with Will&Agency, KIDS Regio have conducted the pioneering pan-European study “Keeping up with Children as an Audience“. This comprehensive research, involving 374 children aged 7-11 from 12 European countries, combined qualitative and quantitative methods to provide valuable insights.
This research (which by the way should be conducted every three years!) is one part of of a three part publication, called Building Bridges: European Children’s Film in Focus. Continue reading “Insights – Audience Research – Quantitative Data”
Research
In order to bring interesting and inspiring data and research on children’s film and media to the attention of our website users on a regular basis, we have established an Academic Committee that meets twice a year to review and curate material for this section of our site.
Most links provided lead to english versions. In some cases only the original language is available. But thanks to translation tools, you can easily access the knowledge in English or even your native language.
Members of the Academic Committee are Irene Andriopoulou, EKKOMED – Creative Greece, Athens; Edita Bilaver, Kids Meet Art, Sedmi kontinent, Zagreb, Croatia; Dr. Noel Brown, Liverpool Hope University, UK; Elisa Giovannelli, Cineteca di Bologna, Italy; Mikk Granström, PhD, Black Nights Film Festival, Estonia; ECFA board member Marjo Kovanen, PhD, National Audiovisual Institute, Finland; Eva Novrup Redvall, University of Copenhagen, Denmark; Anne Schultka, KIDS Regio, Erfurt, Germany and ECFA coordinator Margret Albers.
New Light on Films Made for Children in Finland
This collection of articles, published by Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seura (Finnish Literature Society), provides an overview of the past and present of Finnish children’s film and its complex role in today’s Finnish film culture. Despite the significant role of children’s films in Finnish film culture, little research has been conducted on the subject so far. This book, edited by Outi Hupaniittu, Marjo Kovanen, and Heta Mulari, is the first academic contribution on the topic since the work by Jukka Sihvonen in the 1980s. Continue reading “New Light on Films Made for Children in Finland”
What does it mean to create quality media content for children?
The „quality question“ was asked by Sherri Hope Culver, Director of the Center for Media and Information Literacy at Temple University, USA and she condensed answers and recommendations into 28 pages in the publication THE QUALITY QUESTION: Why Children’s Media Must Aim High. Recommendations for global children’s media leaders. She interviewed more than eighty producers, writers, directors, media development executives, researchers, and CEO’s responsible for creating media content for children and youth. She posed the question to parents, educators, and kids and spoke to people in the United States, Brazil, England, Australia, Greece, and Canada. Continue reading “What does it mean to create quality media content for children?”
To helping children lead healthy lives in a digital world …
… is the motto of the Handbook of Children and Screens. Digital Media, Development, and Well-Being from Birth Through Adolescence. This open access handbook was edited by Dimitri A. Christakis (Seattle Children’s Research Institute/University of Washington) and Lauren Hale (School of Medicine Stony Brook University). It summarizes the insights of nearly 400 (!) international leading experts across the fields of pediatrics, psychiatry, psychology, epidemiology, communication, neuroscience, sociology, history, legal studies, social work, human development and family studies, gender studies, African American studies, education, information technology and design, and more.
Continue reading “To helping children lead healthy lives in a digital world …”
New Scholarly Books on Children’s Films
In the fall of 2024, two new books on Danish and Swedish children’s films were published, offering many interesting perspectives on both contemporary screenwriting and production strategies or questions of historical developments, ideology and aesthetics. These books are not open access and quite expensive to buy, but the manuscripts can be downloaded in full pdf versions from certain university libraries.
Young Cinema-Goers in Germany: The “cinema age” begins with elementary school
We continue to take a look here at qualitative or quantitative studies that are dedicated to children’s media life in various countries. In Germany the national film funding organisation, the Filmförderungsanstalt, FFA, regularly provides data material. In July 2024, their research took a detailed look at young cinema-goers aged between 0 and 19 for the second time.
Continue reading “Young Cinema-Goers in Germany: The “cinema age” begins with elementary school”
Made in Europe: Key takeaways on the performance, challenges, and opportunities for European films globally
T
he European Audiovisual Observatory (EAO) published a new study titled “Made in Europe – Theatrical Distribution of European Films Across the Globe 2014-2023”, authored by Manuel Fioroni.
Key Trends 2023/2024: Television, Cinema, Video and On-Demand Audiovisual Services – The Pan-European Picture
Key Trends 2023/2024 is the European Audiovisual Observatory’s yearly digest of what’s hot in European media: TV, film, and VOD. This new edition outlines again the big picture of the European audiovisual sector.