Nordic Film Days Lübeck (NFL) has a long tradition of programming for young audiences. From its early days, the festival recognised that children and teenagers are vital to its future and invested accordingly: family-focused curation and a school cinema tradition. COVID disrupted these habits and called for a post-pandemic strategy to rebuild engagement: a year-round offer, barrier-lowering measures and tighter alignment with schools and kindergartens.
“Young audiences have always been part of Nordic Film Days Lübeck’s DNA. For decades, the festival has offered outstanding films for children and teenagers not as an add-on, but as a benchmark for the whole festival. We re-anchored this tradition in a broader audience-development strategy. The effect goes beyond full screenings; families return, teachers become ambassadors, and first cinema experiences grow into lifelong festival habits,” says Festival Director Thomas Hailer.
During COVID, the NFL sustained school engagement via online screenings and on-demand cinema visits. Post-COVID, schools were hesitant to return to a one-off festival visit. It took them time to include extra activities again. The pressure to catch up with the curriculum was immense; there was little to no wiggle room for excursions. Nearly all players of Lübeck’s cultural ecosystem faced the same struggle, with the NFL amplified by the logistical reality that a once-a-year event is harder to integrate than regular offers.
Strategic pivot: a two-pillar model
In 2022, the NFL implemented a year-round arm alongside the festival week:
– NFLplus (year-round): a permanent offer of free screenings drawn from previous festival editions, paired with pedagogical materials and workshops, helping teachers map film literacy to curricula. NFLplus combines media literacy with an audience-building strategy.
– School Cinema (festival week): in a special venue for school and kindergarten groups, NFL screens 12 – 15 titles (features & shorts), showcasing the newest Nordic and Baltic films for education audiences. The NFL also provides free teacher materials differentiated by learning level to tackle relevant topics and offer connections to the daily curriculum.
Free Transport + Free Entry
A key blocker after COVID was transport costs: for many schools, getting to the cinema was more expensive than the ticket itself. During the NFL’s 65th edition, two years ago, a public transport partner enabled free travel for school cinema visits. Impact was immediate: schools from across the wider region attended, crucial in rural areas where cinema access is scarce.
In parallel, the free entry for under-18s brought young audiences back to the festival. The NFL aligned: for the second year in a row, school and kindergarten admission is free. Together, free transport + free entry transformed reach and equity.
“COVID broke long-standing habits, so we rebuilt them through our school screenings, plus the year-round free NFLplus offer. Through free tickets and public transport, we removed real barriers, and made access the default: live German voiceover for the youngest, more subtitling for older students, while a growing slate of SDH captions, audio description, sensory-friendly screenings, and neurodivergent-friendly guidance lowers barriers. Lübeck is again a regional hub, especially for rural schools, where first cinema experiences and film literacy can grow,” says Hanna Reifgerst, Young Audience Programmer.
Results & Signals
- Primary schools are highly engaged; secondary schools are returning in strength.
- The NFL has become a fixed date for many schools and kindergartens, thanks to early communication and the NFL Plus continuity.
- Geographic reach has diversified beyond the city centre into rural communities.
- Teachers value the festival-week school cinema as a flagship big-screen moment and the year-round NFLplus as a curricular bridge.
What ECFA peers might take away from this strategy:
- Pair a seasonal showcase with a year-round spine to rebuild school habits.
- Target the real barriers (transport, tickets), not just messaging.
- Make language access and inclusive formats standard, not optional.
- Use early scheduling and simple booking to meet schools where they plan.
- Personal contact matters! Recommendations, regular mailings, easy access to information.
- Anchor the strategy in local policy shifts (e.g. free cultural access for <18) to sustain impact.
The NFL presents the newest Nordic/Baltic titles, with up to 24 screenings dedicated to schools and kindergartens. The audience scope ranges from 4+ (kindergarten) through upper secondary.
Photo’s © Olaf Malzahn