As the tenth edition of the Young Horizons International Film Festival gets ready to unspool in a month’s time, running in theatres from 30 September-8 October, we had the chance to meet up with Maciej Jakubczyk, the department director and the festival’s strategic director. He offered us a glimpse of the upcoming edition, the changes being made this year and what Young Horizons brings to the film industry.

Cineuropa: What prompted you to embark on a new chapter for the tenth edition of your festival?
Maciej Jakubczyk: The New Horizons Association's initiatives for young audiences have been active for 18 years already. During this time, we have naturally progressed from educational programmes to distribution, festivals and industry projects. However, the names of our various activities weren't always coherent among one another. We aimed to highlight the synergy between our projects, leading us to consolidate all of our efforts for youngsters under a single brand – hence the creation of "Young Horizons". Additionally, the former festival name, "Kids Kino", no longer resonated with the older segment (eight- to nine-year-olds), as they preferred not to be referred to as "kids" any more.

Is this merely a rebranding, or does it entail other significant changes to the structure of Young Horizons?
This shift not only involves a brand change, but also a complete visual overhaul in terms of how we communicate with our audiences. Over the past decade, the festival and industry visuals were handcrafted by the artist Katarzyna Walentynowicz from Homework Studio. However, we decided to take a new approach. After reviewing seven different proposals, we opted for Muflon Studio, with whom we collaborated to develop a fresh key visual. Our fundamental activities, though, remain unchanged. The Young Horizons International Film Festival remains a pivotal annual event, where we showcase over 160 films in Warsaw and replicate this in 19 other cities, including Wrocław, where we feature around 80% of the full programme. We also premiere films from our distribution line-up during the festival. In between festivals, we release movies in cinemas and incorporate them into our educational programme – Young Horizons Education – spanning over 120 cities. We're delighted with the growth of both the theatrical and the non-theatrical segments, having reached approximately one million viewers in the past year. Throughout the year, we also provide support for script and project development through Young Horizons Lab and Docs. During the festival, we host Young Horizons Industry – an international co-production forum for films and series.

What can attendees and industry professionals anticipate at the upcoming edition of the festival?
This iteration places a stronger emphasis on reaching teenagers through enhanced communication strategies. This approach is mirrored in our programming, where films for ages 10+ have always been present, but now with added diversity, including movies curated for teenagers. Through our rebranding, we're also underlining the connection with the New Horizons IFF by presenting a section for an arthouse audience at Young Horizons. These films, already showcased in Wrocław, explore the dynamics between adults and young individuals. At this edition, titles like Tótem [+lire aussi :
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interview : Lila Avilés
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interview : Estíbaliz Urresola
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Will there be any novelties for Young Horizons Industry this year as well?
Absolutely – given the rapid evolution of the industry, we make annual adjustments to our offerings. At the 2023 edition of Young Horizons Industry, we're expanding the scope for market screenings. We're devoting more attention to our Young Talents section, fostering collaborations with film schools from various countries. This year, we're also allotting more space to documentary films targeting young audiences, introducing the "Focus on Docs" section. The concept for this documentary focus emerged following the success of two editions of the “Kids Kino Docs” documentary project-development initiative (renamed "Young Horizons Docs" for the upcoming edition). Additionally, we're introducing a new consultation platform for intellectual property (IP) development and are contemplating its expansion into a workshop format. We are happy to invite industry professionals to join Young Horizons Industry, which will run from 4-6 October in the Kinoteka, in Warsaw. Let’s meet in Warsaw!