The ideas that came up during the two intensive days of work at the KIDS Regio Forum (26-28 June) were defined as “prototypes”, but they are actually adaptations or overhauls of existing projects or initiatives happening on a national level. That’s why “Building Bridges” is a very apt motto for this event that has networking at its core. One example is the work of ECFA, the European Children’s Film Association, which brings together around 165 member organisations from 42 countries (also non-European ones) under the banner #bettertogether.

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Caterina Ramalho, director, producer and programmer of the PLAY - Lisbon International Children’s Film Festival, underlined the importance of joining the association: “I learnt so much from them. In Portugal, it feels like I’m isolated in a bubble, and no one is willing to share information about the children’s film scene.”

The Children’s Film Working Group, an informal Swiss association of industry professionals founded in 2018, published a report called “A Children’s Film Strategy for Switzerland” in order to “create awareness and promote developments in the area of children’s film”, according to co-author Julia Tal, a Swiss director-producer. “We also interviewed [people from] seven European countries because no one knew what was out there in Europe, and we published an 80-page piece of research that we presented last year at the Solothurn Film Days. Now, we have the feeling that this topic is gaining traction – we put it on the map in Switzerland, and that’s a good starting point.” Indeed, the sharing of knowledge and reliable data is a fundamental basis for any policy or lobbying activity.

The prototype strategy of the “#start them young” working group (a reference to the paramount importance of film education, which should start very early – another shared belief at the forum) had a European study as its starting point. Such a study could be carried out autonomously by every single state, following the Swiss example.

Another German piece of research focused on the segment of children aged from six to eight years old, a target for which “live-action films are simply not produced in Germany”, explained Rüdiger Hilmer, an independent script consultant and member of the German Children’s Film Association, during an input session where he tried to reflect on the steps that the industry should take to fill this gap. The problem is on the content side, as it’s a complicated age group. One solution could be to organise workshops for professionals who develop these stories. Casting is another issue, as children are only allowed to work on set for a couple of hours at a time.

“We also established that the next call for the Outstanding Films for Children initiative formally declared its interest in receiving submissions aimed at this target group,” Hilmer stated. Outstanding Films for Children is a funding model for original feature-length films launched in 2013 by the German Children’s Film Association and is supported by all German regional funds. So far, it has led to the production of around 11 films.

However, this is not only a German problem. “We have the same in Sweden, and I feel like this a pan-European issue, a battle that I think would be interesting to bring to the European level, through a joint push,” says Janne Vierth, commissioner of feature films, short films and documentaries for children and youth at the Swedish Film Institute.

Germany is currently in the process of updating its film law: the new law is supposed to come into effect in January 2025, and “the current draft states that there won’t be a budget (or any jury) dedicated to children’s films any more, as it used to be on the federal funding level”, revealed Anne Schultka, KIDS Regio project manager. “There is a lot of action going on inside the German Children’s Film Association, which I am also on the board of. We have handed out statements and contacted different associations of professionals… We are fighting for this and to have a seat for a representative of the Children’s Film Association inside the Federal Film Agency. Children don’t have any political voice, so it’s important to keep people’s attention and to do a good job both in Germany and in Europe, in order to continue to be the ‘shining examples of film funding’ together with Denmark.”