Young Horizons Industry has unveiled the official selection for its tenth edition, which is set to unspool between 28 and 30 September in Warsaw. A total of 21 projects – 16 in the In Development section and five in the Work in Progress line-up – have been selected from a record-breaking 163 submissions from around the world. As in previous years, the event will bring together producers, creators and industry professionals focusing on films and series for children and young audiences.

The 2026 selection reflects a strong Nordic and Central European presence. Poland leads the line-up with five selected projects, followed by Denmark with four and Norway with three. Germany is contributing two projects, while Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, France, Greece, Iceland, Italy and Serbia are each represented by one. In total, 13 countries are involved in the selected projects, which also include international co-productions.

The 10 selected films comprise five animated features, four live-action productions and one hybrid project combining live action, animation and transmedia elements. Meanwhile, the 11 selected series include eight animated titles, one documentary series and two hybrid productions blending documentary and animation.

The projects are targeting a wide range of young audiences. Children aged 7-9 and 10-12 remain the primary focus of this year's selection, while several projects are also aimed at preschoolers, teenagers and young adults, and various others are designed to appeal to a variety of age groups.

Comedy, adventure, fantasy, sports and drama dominate the line-up, but a significant number of projects also tackle contemporary topics relevant to younger audiences. Artificial intelligence, algorithms and digital life emerge as recurring themes, alongside stories addressing identity, friendship and growing up. Other highlights include an animated comedy centred on the absurd adventures of animals, a series exploring menstruation, a documentary following a Danish cycling team, adaptations of popular literary works and a screen adaptation of a successful stage play written by one of the writers behind Pocahontas.

Returning production companies include Animoon (Toru Superfox. Superhero), Letko (Meow Clique), WJTeam (Back to Tomioka), Sense Production (Showtime), GotFat Production (Strawberry Weeks) and Under Ski Tower (Bolek and Lolek: The Mystery of El Dorado). The programme is also welcoming back Producers LINK alumni David Leader and Kjersti Greger, as well as Young Horizons Lab alumni Isavella Alopoudi, Marcin Osiadacz and Marek Lachowicz, underscoring the event's continuing role in supporting long-term project development.

The 2026 selection was curated by an international committee comprising Simon Crowe (SC Films International, UK), Marjolijn Janknegt (In the Air, the Netherlands), Michał Broniszewski (Galapagos Films, Poland), Shabnam Rezaei (Big Bad Boo Studios, Canada/Austria), Łukasz Osiecki (TVP, Poland) and Mirko Goran Marijanac (DeAPlaneta Entertainment, Spain/Poland).

All of the selected projects will compete for a range of industry awards supported by partners including WFDiF – Documentary and Feature Film Studio, Wroclaw Feature Film Studio, ATM Virtual, Aeroplan Studios, No Problemo Music, DeAPlaneta Entertainment, m:brane and the CEE Animation Forum.

Alongside the pitching programme, the call for submissions for Project Pool, which is the forum's non-pitching section, is also now open. The initiative offers producers and creators additional opportunities to showcase projects, to connect with potential partners and to receive industry feedback outside the main pitching sessions. Further details about the selected projects, Project Pool and accreditation are available on the Young Horizons Industry website.

The list of selected projects is as follows:

In Development

Alfie's Alright! (animated series)
Producer: Compass Films (Iceland)

Bolek and Lolek: The Mystery of El Dorado (animated film)
Producer: Under Ski Tower (Poland)

Christmas at Ram's Inn (live-action film)
Producer: 73 Eyes Film Production (Norway)

Lita (hybrid documentary/animated series)
Producer: Klipp Fiction (Norway)

Natural Selection (animated series)
Producer: Neda Film (Greece)
Co-producers: Fabian&Fred (Germany), A Private View (Belgium)

Ninjana (hybrid live-action/animated film)
Producer: Ninjana Fiksjon (Norway)

Norm & Gnomes (animated film)
Producer: Blue Light Pictures (Czech Republic)

Pixel (animated series)
Producer: Indyca (Italy)
Co-producer: So What (Italy)

Pola and the Christmas Catastrophe (live-action film)
Producer: Watchout Studio (Poland)

Pony, Pony (animated series) - m:brane direct-access award winner
Producer: Nice Ninja (Denmark)

Showtime (live-action film)
Producer: Sense Production (Serbia)
Co-producer: Contrast Films (Bulgaria)

Snow White and Me (animated film)
Producer: Playwrite D&P UG (Germany)
Co-producer: Epsilon Film (Germany)

Sportsville (animated series)
Producer: Animwood Studio (Poland)

Strawberry Weeks (hybrid documentary/animated series)
Producer: GotFat Production (Denmark)

Toru Superfox. Superhero (animated film)
Producer: Animoon (Poland)
Co-producers: Letko (Poland), Momli (Poland)

Valdra (animated series)
Producer: Skjaldborn (Denmark)

Work in Progress

Back to Tomioka (animated film)
Producer: Foliascope (France)
Co-producers: WJTeam (Poland), Cinemon (Hungary), Wrong Men (Belgium), GS Animation / Grupa Smacznego (Poland)

Breakaway (documentary series)
Producer: Hansen & Pedersen (Denmark)

Cargo Crazy (animated series)
Producer: ROBO Lab (Bulgaria)

Meow Clique (animated series)
Producer: Letko (Poland)
Co-producer: Studio Filmów Rysunkowych (Poland)

Mr Ravioli (live-action film)
Producer: Dreamer Joint Venture (Germany)
Co-producer: Silver Frame (Poland)