As Young Horizons Industry (YHI, 28-30 September) marks its tenth anniversary, newly appointed head Anna E Dziedzic is looking to build on the forum’s established identity while further strengthening its role as a specialised meeting point for the European children’s and youth content sector. From this year’s record selection of projects and the launch of the IP to Screen pilot to a Spotlight on Polish Animation and a renewed focus on audience development, she discusses the challenges facing the sector and the importance of creating meaningful connections.

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Cineuropa: You took over as head of Young Horizons Industry in January. Having already worked with the forum in different capacities, what were your priorities for this new chapter, and what would you like to develop further?
Anna E Dziedzic: It’s a great event, with a strong identity and a lot of experience behind it, so my first priority has been to build on what already works, rather than reinvent it. We are not trying to become the biggest industry event. We want to remain highly specialised and create an environment where people can meet, exchange ideas and find opportunities to work together. Being based in Warsaw also puts us in an interesting position. We can act as a meeting point between filmmakers and producers from smaller or less production-capable markets, and bigger players in the European industry. This is something I would like to strengthen further, while also bolstering our focus on audience development and exploring new ways of reaching young audiences across different platforms.

YHI celebrates its tenth anniversary this year. How has the forum evolved over the past decade, and how has the European industry for children and young audiences changed alongside it?
The forum has grown significantly over the past decade, both in size and scope. It started in 2017 as a much smaller event, and today, we welcome around 300 participants. But the most important change is not the numbers: Young Horizons Industry has evolved from a co-production forum into a broader professional platform, with pitching and non-pitching programmes, and initiatives for different stages of a professional career, including Producers LINK, Young Talents and Young Experts, where 12- to 18-year-olds provide feedback on selected projects alongside industry professionals. This reflects a broader change in how we think about content for children and young audiences. The co-production forum is part of a much bigger Young Horizons ecosystem, which also includes a film festival, distribution, screenwriting workshops and year-round educational programmes. This gives us a 360-degree perspective: from developing and producing films to distributing them and, ultimately, helping them reach their audiences.

At the same time, the European market has become increasingly challenging. Family cinema tends to be more resilient in markets with dedicated public support schemes. Poland is a good example: the introduction of a separate programme for children’s and family cinema at the Polish Film Institute in 2017 gave a significant boost to the sector. Meanwhile, broadcasters are commissioning less, while VoD platforms, which have been an important driver of production in recent years, are currently showing limited interest in commissioning content specifically for young audiences. For us, that means that YHI is no longer only about helping projects find financing and international partners. It is also about creating a stronger connection between the industry and the young audiences these projects are made for.

The 2026 edition presents 21 selected projects alongside the Project Pool, while the conference explores IP, transmedia and the changing patterns of young-audience consumption. What were the main considerations behind this year’s programme, and what do you hope participants will take away from it?
It may sound obvious, but our main focus this year is the young audience. The biggest challenge for creators and filmmakers today is competing for children’s and young people’s attention in an increasingly crowded entertainment environment. Young audiences no longer experience stories through one medium or one screen, so understanding how stories travel across platforms – and how audiences move with them – has become much more complex. We are lucky to have Viola Gabrielli curating the conference programme. Her broad knowledge of the field and curiosity about emerging trends have brought together a great variety of experts and perspectives. We will look at case studies such as ViQueens, the upcoming Polish IP Cloud and Stormy and the Lithuanian phenomenon Nelly Jelly, which grew from a beloved local picture book into a broader brand, as well as how digital and gaming IP can expand into multi-platform experiences. We also wanted this thinking to be reflected in the forum itself. Alongside our film project pitching, we are launching a pilot edition of IP to Screen, presenting books, comics and games with potential for screen adaptation. I hope participants will leave not with a single answer, but with new questions, new connections and the confidence to explore paths they might not have considered before.

The 2026 selection attracted a record number of submissions and includes projects from 13 countries, with particularly strong representation from Poland and the Nordic countries. What does this geographical mix tell us about the European co-production landscape for children and youth content, and where do you see potential for new partnerships?
Actually, if we include the Project Pool, we selected 36 projects from 16 countries this year. The record number of submissions is both a privilege and a challenge. We try to build a programme that is balanced both geographically and creatively, while bringing together projects that can genuinely benefit from an international co-production environment. For me, the real value of such a diverse selection is the possibility of putting people together who might not normally meet. I think some of the most interesting collaborations can come from complementary, rather than similar, markets. That is one of the things we would like to encourage through YHI: creating the ideal conditions for new connections, ideas and partnerships to emerge.

Polish animation is in the spotlight this year. What would you like international professionals attending YHI to discover about the sector today, and what are its strongest assets within the wider European landscape?
Animation is such an important part of our programme that it felt very natural to celebrate our tenth anniversary with a Spotlight on Polish Animation. There is also a nice coincidence here: Polish animation itself will celebrate its 80th anniversary next year. Polish animation has a strong tradition, but it is also very much alive today. Distinctive voices, bold visual languages, a variety of techniques and a willingness to experiment remain important characteristics of the sector. At the same time, contemporary Polish animation is showing an interesting flexibility in terms of format. Projects such as Kitty Kotty and Pucio, for example, have successfully moved from book and series formats into cinemas, creating a familiar and engaging experience for very young audiences while adapting the material to the theatrical format.

But we also want the Spotlight to work in both directions. It is not only about presenting Polish animation to international professionals; together with the Polish Animation Producers Association (SPPA), we have invited European animation producers to Warsaw to meet Polish producers, exchange experiences and create new connections. Hopefully, the Spotlight will be as much about connecting the Polish animation community with Europe as it is about showcasing the work being developed here.