interviews

Storm - Letters of Fire Cloudboy Journal Not Without Us No. 1 | 2017 Slovak Animation February

Photo: Not Without Us www.ecfaweb.org INDEX EDITORIAL

3-4 ECFA Awards The second concern is how to make ECFA evolve Nominated for the ECFA Awards 2017 A new skin without losing its soul and its conviviality, which are indeed some of the great characteristics of this 5-6 Interview organism. We’re considering the best strategy to Storm - Letters of Fire It is with great pleasure that on behalf of the enti- adopt for the next few years, in order to facilitate re association, I wish you a beautiful 2017, and we more meetings for like-minded souls, or more ways 7 Doxspot Black Sheep hope this year will bring you as many innovative for collaboration. Thus, we invite all members to be- ideas in your projects as moments of happiness in come more involved in these dynamics. 8-9 New Animations your everyday life. Morten on the Ship of Fools 2017 will indeed be a year of transition. After 6 ye- Oddsockeaters For ECFA, 2017 marks a year of change, transition ars of dedication, I now pass the torch to the new and evolution. During the 6 years that I’ve been in- team that will be set up after the AGM, allowing me 10-11 Interview volved with great enthusiasm in the management the pleasure to welcome you one last time at the Not Without Us of this body, I’ve been observing with close attenti- Berlinale on Saturday 11th February! on the growth of the anthill. ECFA is living material, – 12-13 with its fragilities and great strengths, and it’s up Céline Ravenel Films on the Horizon to all of us to consolidate its roots and prune them carefully, to see all buds hatched in spring, more be- 14-17 Looking back Kinder- und Jugendfilmkorrespondenz autiful each year. Sannette Naeyé looking back Eszter Vuojala looking back This entire period of preparing the soil and vege- tation, that is generally done in the shade, is pri- 18-19 Interview mordial. ECFA’s board and the entire team have Cloudboy - On the Set worked a whole year on the new communication strategy, launched at the beginning of 2017 with 20-21 Guest pages a new website, a new logo and a new communica- KIDS Regio SACCF tion plan (designed by DBF Designbüro Frankfurt). It’s not a pause or a sudden stop, but a real evolu- 22-24 tion of the organisation which in recent years has Animation Market in Slovakia not ceased to welcome new members and propose - BFILM & Studio Plutoon new projects. Our constant objective is to facilita- te a smooth connection between our members, to 25 Interview give visibility to projects carried out or supported My First Highway by ECFA and to make better use of tools for sharing and participating.

2 | Journal 01 | 2017 ECFA AWARDS

Nominated for the ECFA Awards 2017

offer young Adama much of a per- 11 titles on one ECFA shortlist, show- spective for the future. A story from casing the best European produc- the Paris banlieues, setting a new tions for children in 2016. light on the ‘equal opportunities’ po- licy. In consultation with a number of chil- Nominated by: Int. Film Festival for dren’s film festivals, ECFA compiles Children & Youth (Zlin, Czech Republic) a list of the best recent young audi- ence films. From this list, more than MY SKINNY SISTER (Sanna Lenken, THE NEW KID (Rudi Rosenberg, Fran- 100 ECFA members select the overall Sweden) ce) winner. Last year, the honour went Stella idolises her big sister, who’s Benoit, new at school, seems a per- to BIRDS OF PASSAGE by the Belgian perfect in almost everything. Until, fect target for bullying. Until he finds brothers Ringer. This year there are through the threat of anorexia, the his own light-hearted way to deal with 11 nominees, including no less than beautiful picture gets shattered. the situation. five French titles. An overview: Nominated by: JEFF Festival (Antwerp, Nominated by: BUFF Int. Children & Bruges… Belgium) Youth Film Festival (Malmö, Sweden) & Kristiansand Int. Children’s Film Fes- BLANKA (Kohki Hasei, Italy) tival () An orphan girl and a blind musician on a tour through the streets of Manila. A sharp analysis of seemingly local problems that have a universal rele- vance. Nominated by: Int. Children’s Film Fes- LONG WAY NORTH (Rémi Chayé, tival (Tel Aviv, Israel) France) An heroic trip to the pole by a young girl, walking in the footsteps of her deceased granddad. European anima- LEARN BY HEART (Mathieu Vade- tion celebrating its own unique vision. pied, France) Nominated by: Ciné-Jeune Festival de The suburban apartment life doesn’t l’Aisne (L’Aisne region, France)

3 | Journal 01 | 2017 ECFA AWARDS

THE DAY MY FATHER BECAME CELESTIAL CAMEL (Jury Feting, Rus- LES ENFANTS DE LA CHANCE (Malik A BUSH (Nicole van Kilsdonk, The sia) Chibane, Frankrijk) Netherlands) On the lookout for his runaway camel, DANCING FOR YOU (Erlend E. Mo, During World War II Jewish children In a country at war a young girl tries a young nomadic boy makes a journey Norway) find shelter in a hospital in Paris. They to get a grip on a world-on-the-loose. through a bare desert landscape. A Through practising the traditional hardly realise what dangers are awai- Adventure in the twilight zone bet- story deeply rooted in local traditions. ‘Halling’ dance, a young girl claims her ting them outside the safe walls. ween realism and surrealism. Nominated by: Olympia Children‘s Film place on stage among the men and Nominated by: Schlingel Int. Film Fes- Nominated by: KINOdiseea Int. Child- Festival (Pyrgos, Greece) strengthens the bond with her grand- tival for Children & Young Audience ren‘s Film Festival (Bucharest, Roma- father. (Chemnitz, ) nia) Nominated for the ECFA Docu Award by: doxs! festival for children & youth documentaries (Duisburg, Germany)

The winner of the ECFA Award 2017 for ‘Best Young Audience Film of the Year’ will be announced on 11 Febru- ary at the Treffen der Kinderfilmsze- MY LIFE AS A ZUCCHINI (Claude Bar- ne in . ras, France / Suisse) RAUF (Baris Kaya & Soner Caner, Tur- GOING TO SCHOOL (aka VILLADS In an orphanage young Zucchini must key) – FROM VALBY) (Frederik Meldal Nør- not only come to terms with the death While war is raging in the mountains, gaard, Denmark) of his mother, but also with a new life 9 year old Rauf gets a job as a carpen- Villads goes to school for the very in difficult circumstances. This year’s ter‘s apprentice. A Turkish and Kur- first time: a frightening event, but ultimate revelation in animation. dish director together have made a also a new world of opportunities Nominated by: Ale Kino! Int. Young Au- film with great visual eloquence. opening up. Live action for toddlers. dience Film Festival (Poznan, Poland) Nominated by: Lucas Int. Children’s Nominated by: The Int. Children‘s & Film Festival (Frankfurt am Main, Ger- Youth Film Festival (Oulu, Finland) many)

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Storm - Letters of Fire as well be chopped off, or you ended up at the stake.” “Your head could as well be chopped off” White Lie

“Historical accuracy was a challenge. I did plenty of research, stayed in The prestigious historical adven- trollably on the couch and I couldn’t Antwerp for a while, walked through ture STORM – LETTERS OF FIRE is continue .” sewers, visited the historical sites set in exciting times: the days when and talked to historians and teachers. the rules of the Catholic Church. The Martin Luther wrote his accusati- The only element bringing us into the church allowed a handful of people to on to the Catholic church and war danger zone, was the name ‘Storm become wealthy at the expense of the broke out between several religious Voeten‘. That is a white lie - surnames poor. Upholding that situation could groups. After scriptwriter Karen van came in vogue only half a century la- bring you power and control over the Holst-Pelekaan was asked to adapt ter.” masses. Luther, rebelling against this her script to a , we meet her and injustice, found many supporters. For main actors Juna de Leeuw (15) and “When describing the late medie- example in Belgium, where cities sig- Davy Gomez (12) in a most approp- val Antwerp, I paint a picture of so- hed under the Inquisition’s merciless riate environment: at the Internati- mething that no longer exists. What regime, which caused a massive wave onal Antwerp Book Fair they discus- Storm is the 12-year-old son of printer in my book seems to be a glorious of migrating refugees. That theme sed with the crowd the link between Klaas Voeten, who also secretly prints city, actually was nothing more than today didn’t lose a single bit of its book and film. ‘The book is based on forbidden and banned writings. The a small shithole. An important city in relevance: fundamentalism and the the scenario. I didn’t have to think year is 1521 and the Inquisition keeps the world, but very small compared to abuse of religion to gain power, sca- about the story anymore, but could a tight hand over the city. Storm’s life its current size. In a book you can add res people out of their homes and off add extra layers to the characters.” is turned upside down when Klaas historical details. How did people live? their land.” gets arrested. When Storm, carrying What did they wear? In a film you only Van Holst Pelekaan already wrote the with him a forbidden letter, is pur- vaguely get to see that.” „Antwerp was an important city for script for SECRETS OF WAR and was sued by soldiers he gets help from the development of the art of prin- responsible for buckets of tears shed Marieke, an orphan girl living in the At the expense of the poor ting and the distribution of printed over COOL KIDS DON’T CRY. Van Holst sewers under the city. With Storm’s . People could barely write and Pelekaan: “I even cried while writing father’s life at stake, who can they “Until the early 16th century ever- paper was scarce. Due to the printed it. Sometimes I read a draft script out trust? Van Holst Pelekaan: „In those yone was Catholic, that was never press, knowledge (or ideologies such loud to my husband and at page 70, days it wasn’t obvious to stand up for questioned: you believed in God, as Luther’s) for the first time could be we were already both sobbing uncon- what you believed in. Your head could which you practiced in accordance to transmitted on a large scale. Books

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made people more assertive and criti- ‘it smelled like a shithouse right af- cal. By reading and understanding the ter the neighbours visit.’ Juna de Bible, they were no longer depending Leeuw: „On the set (in a studio in on priests who spoke but Latin. Books Luxembourg) the water came up to that deviated from the prescribed opi- our ankles. It was muddy, slippery and nion were burned. This terrible idea there were rats all around. Trained goes against one fundamental de- rats though, super sweet! After the mocratic value: the right to think, say shooting Davy and I were summoned and write what you want. If we can no to get them back in their boxes.“ longer guarantee that precious com- modity, social media nowadays plays Inspiration for these scenes, Bots an important role, which was proven found in a surprisingly contemporary during the Arab Spring uprising: the medium. ‘With these tunnels I wanted power of the masses. to evoke a gaming feeling. I love tho- se ‘filthy’ medieval times: streets are How familiar are youngsters with such dirty, there’s trash everywhere. But to interesting themes? Director Dennis appeal to the audience of today, and situation and make them respond in- Catholicism, but about finding your Bots: „For all my films I test the histo- being a gamer myself, I looked at the tuitively to what concerns them, you own way of believing. That’s exactly rical awareness of my target audien- world of gaming. ‘Assassin‘s Creed’ get a better result. We improvised for what Marieke does.” De Leeuw: “The- ce. It always strikes me how smart kids was an eye-opener for me: walking example on ‚trust‘: lone wolf Marie- re are two sides to Marieke: she’s a are. Gaps in their knowledge, they fill through the historic streets of Venice ke must learn to trust Storm. When street cat, fighting and stealing. But up themselves with logical thinking, feels like a realistic experience. I wan- I asked Davy to lead her through a she also has an innocent side. It’s that while adults prefer to see everything ted to evoke this game atmosphere building blindfolded, her trust grew vulnerability that made this role so explained. Some basic knowledge is through colour grading and set dres- intuitively.” special.“ needed to understand the story, so sing.” – we included extra background infor- It’s striking how Marieke, with physi- Gert Hermans + Dutch FilmWorks mation in the opening scenes.” Blindfolded cal strength and piercing gaze, claims her place in the movie. Van Holst Pele- Contact: Phanta Vision, The Nether- Like a shithouse Throughout his career Bots developed kaan: “Marieke slips into the church lands; [email protected]; his own methods with young actors. to talk to the Virgin Mother’s statue, www.phantavision.com STORM - LETTERS OF FIRE takes you „More than ‘to act’ you want them to who is kind of a surrogate mother to on a robust adventure. The sewer ‘respond to the situation’. Acting is: I her. I wanted to show that religious watch trailer scenes make your nostrils tremble hear bad news and then I ‘play sad’. symbols can also be beautiful and with stench. As the book describes: But when you bring children into the comforting. It’s not about rejecting

6 | Journal 01 | 2017 DOXSPOT

they’re not sure up to what extent Black Sheep BLACK SHEEP expresses his own The Doxspot column is publis- socio-political orientation. In other by Christian Cerami hed with the help of the doxs! words: is he a supporter of the Eng- festival for children & youth lish Defence League? Cerami: “Not documentaries (Duisburg, Ger- in the least! But I grew up in that many), www.do-xs.de. Sam is standing at a crossroads. The same neighbourhood, amidst similar young man from Northland has no youngsters who also offered me to perspective and plenty of space for join them for demonstrations. Sam hostile images in his head. Together and Jack, the boys in the movie, have The film does not only show the ral- with his little brother Jack, he takes no idea what kind of picture BLACK lying cries and xenophobic hostili- the train to Bradford to participate in SHEEP tries to paint. They came to ask ty, but also the loss of orientation an English Defence League demons- me for a copy of the film, to impress and insecurity by the protagonist‘s tration, an islamophobic extremist their classmates and/or a girl.” attempt to win over his younger bro- ther’s support. The fifteen adolescent organisation among the most signifi- BLACK SHEEP, UK, 2015, 16’. Director members of the Grosse Klappe jury cant right-wing groups in the UK. Ini- “The shooting was rather thrilling & script: Christian Cerami, Director were captured by BLACK SHEEP’s ae- tially shyly, then more confidently, he experience. The Defence League of photography: Simon Plunkett, Edi- sthetic concept that communicates a shouts their slogans. Jack stays aside doesn’t like no sneaking around. The ting: Samuel L. Haskell, Sound: Victo- Europe-wide controversial problem at the edge and observes the roaring presence of a camera was not appre- ria Harris, Production: University of to young people: “The film succeeds crowd from a distance - but for how ciated, which at a certain moment was Westminster Distribution: Christian in presenting a social problem on a long? made clear to me in a unmistakable Cerami. way. That’s where the filming ended.” personal narrative level and thereby opens a new perspective on widely Contact: known issues: conflicts about religion, [email protected], racism and xenophobia. The pictures GROSSE KLAPPE 2016 www.christiancerami.com. of a nationalistic demonstration are BLACK SHEEP by British director afflicting and show the threat that xenophobic declarations pose.” Ac- Christian Cerami was awarded with watch trailer the European film prize ‘Grosse Klap- cording to the jury this is “a clear an- pe’ at the doxs! festival 2016 in Duis- ti-hatred statement”. After the screening the questions burg. Endowed by the Federal Agency Christian Cerami has recently gra- from the doxs! crowd are only co- for Civic Education the award is given duated from the Westminster Film ming slowly. The young audience is since 2011 to productions with an School, BLACK SHEEP is his directorial in doubt: director Christian Cerami’s outstanding aesthetic and political debut. filmic observation is so honest that approach.

7 | Journal 01 | 2017 IN PRODUCTION

Morten on the Ships fitting perfectly in the rich and variegated Estonian animation tradition. of Fools Director Kaspar Jancis, who was involved in every stage of the art direction and puppet design, came to present his animated feature in a Work in Pro- gress session during the Visegrad Animation Forum in Trebon (Czech Republic). “Despite of its dislocati- on, the story has a classical structure, built around the saving of the heroine and the principle of the fi- nal combat. Further clichés will be avoided through man beings and insects into strange hybrid creatu- the use of humour and irony” Jancis says. res. The bugs are as big as Morten and frighteningly resemble adults from his ‚real‘ world. Another vi- The first draft and the creation of the puppets was sual challenge was the awful big amount of water done in Estonia by the Nukufilm Studios. Located in involved. The movement of water is difficult to vi- an old factory, with ateliers for design and develo- sualise. For water close-ups, we used live action vi- ping props and puppets, a creative crew worked a suals, for water seen from a distance, we used CGI, 10 years old Morten, fragile and dreamy, lives in a whole year to create the sets, while 3 animators often combining both in one picture.” small harbor town. His father, a captain sailing the completed 50% of the animation. The scenes from seven seas on his ship, The Salamander, is his only the fantasy world are done in Ireland (involving the For a €6,5 million budget, Nukufilm Studios will family. Aunt Anna, a strict ballet-teacher, is not ex- green screen work for Telegael). Grid VFX (Belgium) deliver an odd and funny feature stop motion ad- actly a sweet surrogate mother. Morten bides his took care of the water, that is needed in large parts venture (80’) for a family audience (5+). Completing time playing the captain of a toy boat, collecting in- of this ‘adventure at sea’. The other UK co-produc- MORTEN ON THE SHIP OF FOOLS is scheduled for sects as crew members serving under his command. tion partner was Calon. The entirely Irish voice cast the end of 2017, to release the film in English and Until one day the unbelievable happens: Morten (including Brendan Gleeson with a West-Dublin ac- Estonian version in 2018. (GH) finds himself shrunk to the size of an insect. Being cent) adds to the juicy tone of the dialogue. ‘Esto- a captain isn’t easy when the crew doesn’t accept nian ‘easygoingness’ with a flair of Irish grotesque,’ More info: www.nukufilm.ee, Contact: nukufilm@ your authority. Locked up in the hold of his ship, sounds like a recipe that could work brilliantly. nukufilm.ee, Kerdi Oengo: [email protected] foul weather is coming and Morten is the only one who can save the ship. Because… sometimes you The setting of MORTEN ON THE SHIP OF FOOLS need to be shrunk in order to grow up. MORTEN ON provoked interesting challenges. Jancis: “Some of watch trailer THE SHIP OF FOOLS is a whimsical piece of animati- the action takes place on ceilings, walls and floors, on on the edge of reality and imagination, introdu- so the perspective will be rather aberrant from the cing caterpillars, butterflies and grasshoppers, but usual horizontal-vertical paradigm, and we mix hu-

8 | Journal 01 | 2017 ARTICLE

Oddsockeaters le textures on paper and used that as a background for drawings. Thus avoiding the artificial CGI look by giving objects and figures a sense of authenticity.”

ODDSOCKEATERS is a Total HelpArt production In October 2016 the animated film ODDSOCKEA- (with Czech Television and Alkay Animation Studio TERS, based on a series of bestselling books by Pa- as co-producers). Producer Ondřej Trojan: “It was vel Šrut, was released in Czech cinemas. Oddsocke- nearly impossible to predict how the film market aters are small invisible creatures, responsible for will look like in 2016 when we entered the project socks that go missing when we only have one left in 2011, but I believed then and I believe now that from a pair - the odd sock. They eat socks, but only romantic and adventurous souls will find their way one from each pair! Since many people might have to be tested. “Their physiognomy is different from into cinemas, not just watch the film alone on TVs, their own oddsockeaters at home, it’s time to take humans and the fact that their mouth and nose are computers or smartphones.” International sales are a closer look at these funny and visually attractive combined into one, significantly affects their facial handled by LevelK. (GH) little chaps. expressions.” More info about ODDSOCKEATERS: http://www.le- On The film depicts the adventures of a young Galina Miklínová also illustrated the books by Pa- velk.dk/films/oddsockeaters/3631 or www.tha.cz. oddsockeater named Hugo. The life of his grand- vel Šrut. “It wasn’t an easy job to transfer books Sales: Tine Klint, [email protected]; Derek Lui, father is nearing its end and Hugo must overcome with human characters, coyotes and the notorious [email protected] his fears, leave the apartment where they live and oddsockeaters into a film. What about creating 1500 Festivals: Niklas Teng, [email protected] seek out his uncle. He draws courage from the good hand-painted socks? We tried 3D, we tried puppets, – manners that grandpa taught him and from the but then found a format in which everything could oddsockeaters’ ten commandments. Until he breaks come together. Opting for computer animation was two basic oddsockeater rules: ‘Never take the entire a logical route to take. CGI technology allowed us pair’ and ‘Stick close to people, but not too close’. to maintain the delicate balance between credibili- watch trailer ty (realism) and fiction and was a fantastic tool for Director and co-author Galina Miklínová: “We star- creating the physical form of the oddsockeaters. ted working on the project already in 2011, setting Oddsockeaters are compiled from various textiles ourselves the highest standards. Only making the and CGI allowing them to be stretched, made trans- animatic took us 2 years and at least 12 people parent, twisted and twirled etc... As creator of the were involved. The result almost looked like a live original (illustrated) oddsockeaters as a ‘species’, action film.” It was vital to first develop the figu- I was keen to retain the artistic objective, to draw res of the oddsockeaters as a new type of creature. by hand all the objects to be modelled and covered Their movements and lip-synch in particular needed with specially prepared textures. We’ve put aquarel-

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Sigrid Klausmann about ‘Not without us‘ “Intimate conversations don’t come easily”

film was nominated for an ECFA Docu In the feature length documentary Award), and starts her Q&A with a NOT WITHOUT US Sigrid Klausmann question: How do you all go to school? and her team of directors follow 16 Walking? By bus? By bicycle perhaps? A children on their way to school and surprisingly large amount of children is show the efforts they make every dropped every day at the school gate day to get access to education. Like by their parents. Quite a contrast with Sanjana, from an Indian region where the kids in NOT WITHOUT US: “I’ve met ‘girls going to school’ is considered children living so isolated they had to be finds her way to school independent- producers Walter Sittler (Schneegans useless, or Vincent from Austria ski- brought by helicopter. Or kids that had ly along crossroads and underpasses, Productions) and Gerhard Schmidt (Ge- ing down from a mountain top cabin to walk to school for two days, and then and Enjo, a young philosopher feeling a mini Film). So far we did 27 children on 5 to the school in the valley, or Alphon- stayed there for several months.” deep connection with the nature in his continents. I’m supervising this project sine from the Ivory Coast, who comes home region. We even included one girl (and filmed some portraits) but I have to school to work but isn’t allowed “When selecting children for this movie, who doesn’t go to school: Alphonsine is several directors working with me: Lina to attend classes. Sigrid Klausmann: we looked for those following a particu- an orphan, living with her grandmother, Luzyte, Insa Onken, Ali Kareem and Ari- “On their way to school children from lar route to school, who were not afraid who decided that her grandchildren ane Kessissoglou. the episodes different countries and backgrounds to talk in front of the camera and who shouldn’t go to school (“you wouldn’t took us a whole year. For the shooting share with us their dreams and ambi- had enough self-confidence to tackle all understand a thing anyway”) but have of an episode we schedule one or two tions, their personal view on society. sorts of topics. Basically I’m sure all chil- to work and earn a living.” weeks: research, preparations, inter- Throughout the film you’ll find out dren have an interesting story to tell, so viewing,… Each individual child needs how different their situation is, but I had to go by some criteria, and by gut “NOT WITHOUT US has its roots in to be approached in its own way. To let how similar their longings are.” feeling. We selected 16 children from a project called ‘199 Little Heroes’ them open up in front of the camera, 15 countries – I decided to keep two kids (www.199littleheroes.com), aiming you have to create a certain trust. We Sigrid Klausmann meets her young au- from Suisse on board as I found their to portray one child in every country had one child who didn’t speak freely, dience after a school screening, orga- stories equally special. That’s why we in the world. Together with me, the but then the next day simply couldn’t nised by the doxs! festival (where the follow both Rebekka, who is blind and project was created and supported by stop talking. We tried to keep crews

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as small as possible – intimate conver- at the world? How do they experience sations don’t come easily when you’re their environment? We wanted to give surrounded by a 20-headed film crew. a voice to the children of the world, not Usually there was just the director, a by using a grown-up’s voice over. Child- DOP, a sound technician, a translator, a ren do have an insight in the world and driver and sometimes a security agent.” at that age they’re attentive observers. I find it important they can share their “I started my career as a teacher, then thoughts directly with peers in the au- became a choreographer, and only re- dience. Every child has the right to make latively late found my way into making his or her voice heard, also the ones documentaries. In all my former occu- who are sick, like the HIV positive Luni- pations I’ve always been working with ko from South-Africa, or those who feel young people. Even as a choreographer, excluded. Every child is a film in itself.” township Khayelitsha, where extra se- the film’s intention. We’re telling these I worked with youngsters trying to tell “The exotic locations seldom brought curity was needed. Not just to secure children‘s stories, hoping they’ll be he- their story through dancing. But the us in risky situations. The episode in Iraq ourselves, but our equipment. Recently ard by bodies that can provide profound idea to film kids on their way to school was shot by colleague Ali Kareem, who we shot an episode in Mexico City, and assistance. Maybe Perla from Iceland originally came from my husband and grew up there. As he’s trying to make the company renting out equipment, was resuming our intentions perfect- producer Walter Sittler. I soon found a film with children, Ali is in close con- demanded we should always be escor- ly: ‘All children want to have someone out the reality was even more thrilling tact with local youngsters. Jafer played ted by guards.” they can trust, who helps them in life, than the idea. Because the true excite- a role in his award-winning short film, “NOT WITHOUT US brought us to some a family or even friends who love them ment was in finding out: what do these and now he’s starring in our episode. I of the poorest countries in the world. It and care about them like parents do. children have to tell? How do they look shot Luniko’s story in the South-African isn’t a surprise that some of those por- Nothing is more important than that’.” trayed asked us for a kind of support. – When working with poor families, they Gert Hermans received a fixed sum of money. And every child participating, received a gift. watch trailer There were children asking for a new school bag or school uniform, which we bought them. You feel that urge also On 4 November, Sigrid Klausmann took with the audience: we want to help, part in a panel discussion, organised right now! Like after one screening, a by the Filem’on Children’s Film Festival woman immediately wanted to organi- (Brussels), about the responsibilities of se fundraising to help the children all to- documentary directors working with gether, all 16 of them. But that was not young people. Read the full report here.

11 | Journal 01 | 2017 FILMS ON THE HORIZON

New European films for children or Feature, Poland, 2016 World Sales: Beta Cinema, Germany young people which are ready to be Directors: Mariusz Palej Phone: ++49-89-67-34-69-80 discovered for your programmes. Production: TFP, Polsat, Fremantle [email protected] More information and more films can Media. www.betacinema.com be found at www.ecfaweb.org/eu- World Sales: TFP Sp., Poland ropean-childrens-film-network/fea- Phone: ++48-22-810-92-79 The Erlprince ture-films. Producers, distributors [email protected] and sales agents are kindly invited to Trailer: www.t-f-p.pl Prod.: SF Film Production, Join Motion inform us of their new releases. Pictures Butterfly Kisses World Sales: Films Boutique, Germany Ballerina Feature, UK, 2017 Phone: ++49-30-695-378-50 Director: Rafael Kapelinski [email protected] Prod. & World Sales: Blue Shadows www.filmsboutique.com Films, UK Feature, Poland, 2016 Phone: ++44-20-37-73-39-93 Director: Kuba Czekaj The Legend of Timm Thaler [email protected] Prod.: Studio Munka, Telewizja Polska, or The Boy Who Sold His www.blueshadowsfilms.com Odra Film Laughter Animation, France, 2016 World Sales: Studio Munka, Poland Director: Eric Summer & Eric Warin The Day, My Father Became Phone: ++48-22-556-54-70 Prod.: Quad Films, Caramel Films, a Bush [email protected] Gaumont www.studiomunka.pl World Sales: Gaumont S.A., France Phone: ++33-1-464-320-60 Good Boy [email protected] Feature, Russia, 2016 www.gaumont.net Director: Oxana Karas Prod. & World Sales: 2D Celluloid, Behind the Blue Door Russia Feature, Germany, 2017 Phone: ++7-495-741-90-90 Director: Andreas Dresen [email protected] Prod.: Constantin Film, Rolize, ZDF www.2dfilms.ru World Sales: Beta Cinema, Germany Feature, The Netherlands & Belgium & Phone: ++49-89-67-34-69-80 Croatia, 2016 Heartstone [email protected] Director: Nicole van Kilsdonk Feature, Denmark & Iceland, 2016 www.betacinema.com Prod.: Lemming Film, Minds Meet, A Director: Gudmundur A. Gudmunds Private View son

12 | Journal 01 | 2017 FILMS ON THE HORIZON

Mountain Miracle – An My First Highway [email protected] Storm – Letters of Fire Unexpected Friendship Feature, Belgium & The www.mamo.fi Netherlands, 2016 Director: Kevin Meul Richard the Stork Prod.: CTM Films, Fobic Films World Sales: Premium Films, France Phone: ++33-1-42-77-06-39 [email protected] www.premium-films.com Feature, Germany & Italy, 2017 Director: Tobias Wiemann Rabbit School – Guardians Prod.: Lieblingsfilm, Helios of the Golden Egg Animation, Germany, Belgium & Nor- Feature, The Netherlands, 2017 Sustainable Films, RBB way, 2017 Director: Dennis Bots World Sales: Lieblingsfilm, Germany Director: Toby Genkel & Reza Memari Prod.: Phanta Vision, Bulletproof Phone: ++49-89-890-578-30 Production: Memari und Knudsen & Cupid, Iris Productions,… [email protected] Streuber Medienmanufaktur, Ulysses, World Sales: Phanta Vision, The www.lieblingsfilm.biz Walking the Dog Netherlands World Sales: Global Screen, Germany Phone: ++31-20-62-60-255 The Polar Boy Phone: +49-89-244-12-95-500 [email protected] [email protected] www.phantavision.com Animation, Germany, 2017 www.globalscreen.de Director: Ute von Münchow-Pohl More information on all these films Prod.: Akkord Film Trollie: Home, Sweet Home you will find on our website: World Sales: Sola Media, Germany / Trollie: The Great Rescue www.ecfaweb.org/european-child- Phone: ++49-711-479-36-66 Features, The Netherlands, 2016 rens-film-network/feature-films [email protected] Director: Gert Embrechts www.sola-media.com Production: Ciné Cri De Coeur, Johan Feature, Estonia, 2016 Nijenhuis & Co, Mollywood Director: Anu Aun Little Wing World Sales: Attraction Distribution, Prod. & World Sales: Luxfilm, Estonia Feature, Finland, 2016 Canada Phone: ++372-52-04-780 Director: Selma Vilhunen Phone: ++1-514-846-12-22 [email protected] Prod. & World Sales: Making Movies, [email protected] www.luxfilm.ee Finland www.attractiondistribution.ca Phone: ++358-9-621-38-28

13 | Journal 01 | 2017 ARTICLE

Kinder- und Jugendfilmkorrespondenz: The last One

At the end of 2014 Christel and Hans stream or a more arthouse approach, ted how important it is to take a young Strobel handed over the editorship is utterly regrettable. While the ‘be- audience serious, to entrust them with of the ‘Kinder- und Jugendfilmkorre- sondere Kinderfilm’ funding initiative new, exciting and challenging films – a spondenz‘ (KJK), a German magazine in Germany is actually causing a sub- promise too often not fulfilled. In this reporting about the world of child- stantial change, and children‘s film is way, these articles further carried out ren’s film which they founded in 1980, getting a new relevance in the public the ‘journalistic spirit’ of Christel and to the ‘Filmdienst’ magazine, in which perception, the sector loses a journa- Hans Strobel. the mission was forged ahead as a listic ‘megaphone’ to go with this de- quarterly supplement. After eight velopment. Above all, the KJK offered Probably no other magazine can be editions however, the cooperation space to a market segment, which is found today that was running for more ended again due to a Filmdienst res- otherwise often left out entirely or - than 30 years on a remarkable per- tructuring. The published in still - characterised by quite old-fashi- sonal commitment like ‘the Strobels’ November 2016 appeared to be the oned expectations on ‘good children’s had. It will require a joint effort and last one. Thus, the relaunch of KJK films’. A magazine like the KJK for me a political backbone to launch a new, came to a sudden end. Since 1 Janu- still had a great relevance, because similar specialised publication. While ary 2017, the rights to the name Kin- it gave visibility to the very different such a magazine for the children and der- und Jugendfilmkorrespondenz young audience films available on the youth film scene is still as important have returned to the original founder market, at the same time evaluating as ever. stimulating platform. Similar websites Christel Strobel. and classifying them. That even ‘small’ – or blogs are equally hard to find. Kin- German or international productions Stefan Stiletto Over the course of the last eight edi- derfilmwelt.de (directly addressing could receive a better appreciation (KJK Editor from 2015 – 2016) tions, we have ‘reworked’ the KJK, the <12 target group, edited by the and attract more attention was a nice shifting the focus from children’s film German Children & Youth Film Centre) side effect. news towards a magazine about the and the private children’s film blog by broad children and youth film scene. Rochus Wolff (kinderfilmblog.de) are With the section „What is children‘s In the German-speaking area I’m not well-known exceptions. film?“ we tried to examine what- chil aware of any other print magazine con- dren‘s films should or could be and to centrating so vigorously on this speci- The (at least temporary) loss of a rele- express resentment about grievances. fic field, providing it with an equally vant publication, providing a forum for As varied as the articles of the guest critical, constructive, entertaining and children and youth films with a main- authors were, above all they highligh-

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In the last few years Hans Strobel was increasingly In memoriam detained by Parkinson‘s disease. He, who had so Sannette Naeyé much to tell us, could communicate less and less with Hans Strobel his beloved ones. But what we will all keep in mind, is looking back his tireless commitment.

(based on a text published by the former KJK edi- tors) Now that I’m about to leave Cinekid, ECFA asked me to look back upon three specific moments, while at the same time share some advice for the future. First let me say: I’m giving up a great job for a leap into the great unknown. ‘Retirement,’ people as- SHORT FILM EXPERT ked? Please no! Anyway, if I’ll ever reach that age, you can bet that the Dutch government will imme- One thing missing from your ECFA Journal diately raise the minimum retirement age by a few was always a regular update on the field of more years. short films for a young audience. Soon this will no longer be the case. The next edition I’ve worked for a long time for Cinekid, but before Copyright: Schlingel filmfestival Chemnitz (May 2017) will launch the ‘Short Cut’ co- Cinekid I held a few other interesting jobs. As head lumn, in which ECFA’s expert member ‘Mo of ‘Art & Culture’ for a big Dutch public broadcas- On the night of 24th December 2016 Hans Strobel & Friese’ (as a part of the Kurzfil- ter, I learned everything about how to work within passed away, only a few days before his 79th birth- magentur) will shine its light on the latest tight budgets. Every day I needed to put my signa- day. Just one day earlier, together with his wife short film trends and highlights. ECFA is ture on stacks of budgets and bills submitted to me Christel, he attended the film concert ‘Three Hazel- proudly looking forward to this new coope- for various aspects of production. That’s where I nuts for Cinderella’, with their son Frank conducting ration, that will further add to the Journal’s learned: don’t put your trust blindly in the combi- the philharmonic orchestra. quality. nation ‘man & computer’, keep your head cool, trust Together, Hans and Christel Strobel were the inspi- your intuition. Even when budgets at first sight look rers of modern children‘s cinema in Germany, which trustworthy, realize that the logic within a budget was an abrupt change after the nostalgic fairy-tales sometimes gets lost. If you find something that you of the 1950s, previously dominating the bare child- can’t immediately explain, listen to your personal ren’s film landscape. They directed the Kinderfilm- alarm bell. Trusting my own intuition has saved me fest München for 22 years and with their unique Kin- from making mistakes that could have cost thous- der- und Jugendfilmkorrespondenz magazine, they ands of Euros. (tip 1) underlined their mission and quickly found like-min- ded souls nation-wide.

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I was also part of an editorial team for a small bro- In the before mentioned job as ‘Head Film Depart- adcaster. As ‘Head Film Department’, I was respon- ment’, I also committed a cardinal sin. At the time, sible for the acquisition of all genres of program- quality series for a youth audience were rare. I ac- ming, which included documentary films. In those quired films and re-edited them into three-episode days, some of these films had an exceptional emo- series. As I had been trained as a camera director, tional impact. I experienced first-hand to hear the and had been making my own programs, I knew telephone lines ‘explode’ the moment we started about the importance of ‘establishing shots’, the broadcasting. And the strange preliminary silence, scenes needed to set the context of a story. In my when our team of professionals was waiting to act, opinion, those shots were almost always too long in literally, as help desk. This experience taught me the films I had acquired. So I recklessly shortened that emotions are universal. That hurt and sadness those opening scenes. That’s how I learned about do not fade away and continue to live on in many the power of a strong opening scene and story mo- different forms. That the personal and the political tif (tip 3). go hand in hand. And that, when working in media, to bend with the wind and keeping your back stra- For instance, as in: ight are equally important qualities. In the end, the 1. THE THREE ROBBERS (2007): At the opening cre- only thing you can hold on to, is your own moral dits, I already roared with laughter. compass. 2. TWO TIMES IDA (1989): Ida drives into the water but is sent back when she arrives at heaven’s gate. It’s the reason, I never watched horror films. I don’t 3. KIRIKOU AND THE SORCERESS (1998): Kirikou want to become numb, I want to keep my judge- literally comes rolling out of his mother’s lap into ment sharp. Violence – physical and emotional - and the story. especially domestic violence has a tremendous im- pact on children (this knowledge guided me in my So rather than last words, for me, the first words, role for the advisory board of the Dutch Institute the first images will guide my future work. for Classification of Audio-visual Media). As pro- grammer for a festival where children watch films After nearly 20 years I will enjoy a summer without ‘under guidance’, I maintained the same liberal cri- festival deadlines. I hope to get connected to some teria concerning violence as we apply towards por- beautiful projects. As an e-mail address I didn’t traying intimacy: functional nudity is accepted, just choose ‘.com’ or ‘.eu’, but an address that I hope will like functional scary emotions and violence. Thin- reflect my ongoing thirst for knowledge: king that you can keep children ‘safe’, by keeping [email protected]. these away, does not give them the skills to learn – how to deal with it. (tip 2). Sannette Naeyé

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discussing the films together, with the youngsters arts, of fantasy and of righteous values. It is import- Eszter Vuojala getting excited and enthusiastic about all the films ant to encourage them in their natural creativity, and about the overall experience they had during and in staying morally correct and humane. looking back one week. – Eszter Vuojala 3. Most touching moment [email protected]

I‘ve been working for the Oulu International Child- The screening of the Finnish film STORMHEART ren‘s Film Festival since 1990, the last 10 years as (‘Myrsky’) in 2008. There was a simultaneous sign festival director, and now it is time to pass on the language screening for disabled children (which festival into the hands of the next generation: new we organise every year). The film was about the festival director Anna Asplund, and Mika Anttolai- friendship between a little girl and a huge Cauca- nen as festival coordinator. Looking back upon my sion Shepherd dog. The director was invited, but beautiful career, these are three highlights I’ve too busy. Then I got an idea and contacted the local selected. Kennel Club. After the screening I went on sta- ge with a 50 kg gigantic Caucasion Shepherd dog 1. Most glamorous moment (which was not the one from the movie, but a loo- kalike indeed). The applause was huge and children When the festival celebrated its 30th anniversary in queued up in their wheelchairs for a hug with the 2011, the then president of Finland Tarja Halonen dog and a selfie. invited me to the Presidential Palace in Helsinki for the Independence Day reception. That was not only Finally it is time to thank everybody who has coope- a glamourous party but also a public tribute to our rated with me over the last 26 years. If anything, festival, as the event was screened live on national festival work is teamwork. I might have troubled TV. you, dear ECFA Members, many times for contact information and all kinds of other help. Thank you 2. Most exciting moment for having been patient and cooperative!

A yearly highlight was the children‘s jury making its I loved my job. It was not only fascinating, but also decision about the ‘Star Boy Award’, the best film in extremely important. Why? Now a new generation the children‘s competition. The members of the jury is born that interacts with multiple screens and gathered – no adults around, as I also left the place. technology before they are even verbal. In this com- Sitting in my room I wondered what film could be plex and alienated technocratic world of them/us, the winner. Once the decision was made, we started our role is to guide children towards the world of

17 | Journal 01 | 2017 INTERVIEW

Cloudboy - On the set

Meikeminne Clinckspoor under the dinavian youth films that made such a spell of Scandinavian children‘s film big impression on her as a child. As a student she already showed her gre- This summer shy Belgian city boy Ni- at passion for this tradition, through ilas should - against his will - visit his the shorts THE WISHING TREE and KI. biological mother he barely knows. That love she equally carries out in She lives high up North, among the CLOUDBOY closely resembling a clas- Sami reindeer shepherds in Lapland. sic Nordic youth film: standing close Abashed, Niilas crawls into his shell, to nature and respecting the sponta- where only his half-sister Sunna ca- neous, sincere childhood. CLOUDBOY refully can come to find him. One day is an international co-production, with a female reindeer goes missing. Ni- Sweden, Norway and The Netherlands ilas identifies with the lonesome calf on board. The shooting in the North abandoned by his mother and dedi- is finished („In Scandinavia we had to cates himself wholeheartedly to the react very flexibly to all conceivable search for the missing animal. Mean- weather conditions“) and today, du- hanging on a rope, jumping from one providing an energetic counterbalan- while a giant moose keeps unexpec- ring one of the last days of filming, container to another. His steep black ce for the subdued scenes in Swedish tedly crossing his path. For Niilas, this the crew stays close to home: at the hair has turned wild, flaming and cur- forests. They’ll help the introverted might just become the most exciting harbour-side, where Niilas meets a ly. CLOUDBOY is his feature debut. In Niilas to ‘come back home’, finding a summer ever. group of free runners. the cast he is joined by actors from group of friends to hang out with. But Belgium (Geert Van Rampelberg), on the set such a gang of young war- Meikeminne Clinckspoor alternately Sweden (Sara Sommerfeld, BECK, riors is difficult to keep in check. Free worked in Belgium and The Nether- Under the blazing sun WINGS OF GLASS), Norway (Mikkel runners can’t sit still – that’s in their lands on her feature film debut CLOU- Gaup, OFELAS, BREAKING THE WA- nature! The piles of wood, concrete DBOY until the project found shelter Daan Roofthooft, playing Niilas, ap- VES) and young Sami actors playing and car wrecks scattered strategically with Flemish producer Bulletproof pears to be in just about every sce- Niilas’ half-brother and sister. across the set, look so inviting. Free Cupid, who is striving for a stronger ne of the movie. Yesterday he got a The group of free runners play a par- runner coach Nicolas explains some profile in the children‘s film field (with diving course and had fun in a water ticular role in the story. After a sum- techniques and stirs up the extras yet the film BINTI in the pipeline). tank, filming a few underwater sce- mer on the Swedish countryside they with pep talk: „The pace is good, that Meikeminne is fascinated by the Scan- nes. Today under the blazing sun, he’s represent the attraction of the city, flow is excellent!“ Meikeminne divi-

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But the film totally focusses on Niilas, I’m only there to co-start up the sto- ryline.”

How good are you as free runner? Van Rampelberg: “On a 0-10 scale I’d give myself a decent 2!” watch trailer

What motivated you to agree to this film? Van Rampelberg: “Engaging in a pro- a next generation.” ject like this I do purely out of love for children‘s film. As teenager I was CLOUDBOY will première in the JEFF member of the film club, organising youth film festival (Antwerp / Bruges) screenings at our school. Every year and will go in domestic distribution in when choosing films from a cata- April. logue, there were fiery discussions des her time between crew and young tor Geert Van Rampelberg like a glove. and I still remember the excitement. International sales: New Europe Film actors, that she constantly monitors. „Although it’s a minor role, I had rehe- On Friday evening the school gym Sales, Jan Naszewski, jan@neweuro- She has her own ideas about how to arsals with Daan and Meikeminne, as was ‘pimped’ into a cinema. Seeing pefilmsales.com get the best out of them. During the playing a father-son relationship isn’t a movie there was awesome. That’s Festival contact: Ewa Bojanowska, entire shooting period, the interna- obvious. Certainly not such a ‘little where the seed of my love for cinema [email protected] tional crew has delivered excellent too close’ father-son bond. All the- was sown. When reading a script like work and did everything to make life se years for his son he has fulfilled CLOUDBOY, a collaboration nota bene – as easy as possible for a debuting di- both the paternal and maternal role, with Scandinavia, I’m immediately Gert Hermans rector. But the whole project is driven in a very protective position. In such convinced. Moreover, I find it amazing by Meikeminne‘s strong vision. situation, you can easily grow too clo- that a director like Meikeminne wants se together. Now the time has come to focus solely on youth film, because Cinema at the gym for Niilas to get to know his mother, it’s her choice and her passion. Once to ‘stand on his own feet and discover she was fed this same enthusiasm and A father observes with satisfaction himself’. A beautiful key-moment in hunger for cinema, causing a kind of how his son is embraced by a group the life of father and son. A friction is wonder that creeps into your body, of free runners. The role of affable growing between them, which adds to into your cells. I find it beautiful that father figure fits popular Belgian ac- the interesting evolution of the story. she now wants to pass this feeling to

19 | Journal 01 | 2017 GUEST PAGE

Kids Regio Speakers in this session, explaining their strategies to connect with their (young) audience will be: New season of industry - Alison Norrington, writer, producer & Chief Creati- ve Director of storycentral, London, UK events - Maciej Jakubczyk, Head of Education at the New Horizons Association, Director of the Kino Dziecie Film Festival and the Kids Film Pro writer’s Lab, War- saw, Poland In 2017 KIDS Regio will run in close collaborati- - Hannah Higginson, Engagement Producer at Wa- on with The Financing Forum for Kids Content its tershed, a cultural cinema and centre for digital cre- two cornerstone business events: the KIDS Re- ativity, Bristol, UK Richard the Stork gio Berlinale Meeting Point on 11 February and - Harro van Staverden, producer at Phanta Basta!, The Opening Industry Day during The Financing The Netherlands, recently working on STORM – LET- The objective of The Opening Industry Day is to sup- Forum for Kids Content in Malmö on 14 March, TERS OF FIRE port and improve the development, production, and thus providing ground for professional exchange distribution of media content for children by recog- between creatives working within the children’s More info: www.kids-regio.org/home nising the specifics of the young audience. screen. – The Financing Forum for Kids Content (14-16 March) This year’s KIDS Regio Berlinale Meeting Point will is an annual three day co-production forum for chil- look at inspiring projects and engaging strategies, dren‘s screen media in Malmö, Sweden. Around 25 entailed in the changing viewing habits of the The Opening Industry Day on 14 March during The projects in development are pitched for European young audience. Four speakers from different Eu- Financing Forum for Kids Content will continue en- decision makers from broadcasters such as YLE, DR, ropean traditions will present their ideas, reflecting folding successful case studies on e.g. how to build NRK, SVT, Canal +, France Television, BBC, NDR etc. on this year’s key question: How to build up and mo- a 360 degree brand for pre-schoolers (Gigglebug, and experts from e.g. the Nordic film institutes as tivate a young audience for European Independent Finland), how to sell a children’s film to 100 coun- well as around 150 producers and distributors. Cinema? Together with moderator Füsun Erikson, tries (RICHARD THE STORK, Norway/Germany) and – film consultant and former director of the Buster how to create a VoD platform designed particularly Viola Gabrielli Festival (Copenhagen), they will discuss perspec- for small children (Hopster, UK). You get first hand tives on audience engagement and how those are insight in the choices this generation of teens ma- Register here. implemented within their own strategies. Together kes when they’re invited to take over the work pro- More info: www.thefinancingforum.com they’ll investigate up to what extent an engage- cess part (Fremtidsfabrik, DK), you’ll be introduced ment strategy is already possible / necessary in the to the universes of reclaimed Step-In-Books (DK) as development stage of a film and whether creative well as to the poetic, environmentally clever VR ins- professionals should rethink their policies. tallation Treehugger (UK).

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SACCF Currently monetisation from VOD is a challenge, primarily due to internet reach and bandwidth – New kid on the block the connection speed is not sufficient and the data costs are prohibitive. Most Indians are wary of swit- ching to VOD because of this, even with films cur- rently being offered at say 40 cents per view or 7,5 India is arguably the world’s largest market for USD a year. Indians are known to be price-sensitive. children’s content. 22 kids channels vie for the The subscriber base is therefore limited to tech sa- attention of over 350 million children. But sin- vvy urban users. But this small section of potential ce most households in India have only a single subscribers is forecasted to expand to 105 million screen, only 15 to 30% of children’s viewing time within the next three years. is spent on kids’ networks. The rest of the time is spent in collective family consumption of ge- Right after Bollywood film, music and cricket, kids’ neral entertainment or news channels. Child- segment is expected to grow the most. While Net- Giraffada ren’s networks attract only 4,5% of the total TV flix, Amazon, Hotstar and Hooq have children’s sec- advertising money. There is no public service or tions, last year also saw the launch of numerous cluded GIRAFFADA, MOTHER I LOVE YOU, BIRDS OF government run channel for kids. So even though dedicated platforms. Since most companies in this PASSAGE, KAUWBOY, THE SECRET OF KELLS, ELE- demographically they are the largest block of space are eyeing the mass market, their program- ANOR’S SECRET and many Studio Ghibli films. In its potential consumers, the investment in children’s ming selection is similar to the traditional Indian five month run, the channel was subscribed by 2,6 channels is comparatively miniscule. This impacts kids’ television networks, presenting only content million households. That is 65% of Tata Sky’s sub- the programming which focuses on content laden with mass appeal. However the individual nature scriber households with children under 14 years. with slapstick humour, action and unapologetic of consumption of VOD will soon create space for consumerism. content with a more niche appeal. With more and Encouraged by this phenomenal response, Tata Sky more parents becoming conscious of alternative has announced a permanent dedicated children’s But the story is about to change with the arrival of content for children, this market is set to grow. This channel. We are looking for features and shorts the new kid on the block – VOD! presents an opportunity for European children’s appropriate for 8-10 year olds, primarily in English. India is already home to around 460 million internet films which have till now been viewed in India only Films that are challenging and nuanced can help users, by 2020 this number is expected to increase at children’s film festivals. children make sense of this upside-down world! to 730 million. With Netflix and Amazon Prime Vi- – deo opening their account in India last year, VOD Last year the leading Direct to Home platform –Tata Monica Wahi has finally entered the consciousness of the Indian Sky – launched a curated pop-up freemium channel digital consumer. to help audiences discover meaningful children’s If you have exciting titles to offer for the Indian films. Programmed and acquired by Monica Wahi territory, get in touch at the EFM through (author of this article), the package of 45 films in- [email protected].

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TV bedtime stories and only relevant additional source available, co-pro- ductions with the RTVS are in many cases essential other Slovak animation for producers. The domestic TV series for children are but a handful of new animated programmes re- turning to RTVS, after a 20 years absence of original The animation market animated content. in Slovakia

Due to its size and resources, Slovakia has a Mimi and Lisa rather limited amount of children’s content in film and TV production. However, those few pro- bution, scholarships, and minority co-productions. ductions earn recognition, at least in Central Eu- With sub-programs for fiction films, documentaries rope. Even being a small country, Slovakia is the and animated films. birthplace of some good quality animated films for kids. The Slovak Fund is only 8 years young and for many

producers productions for children could be an The Tots Slovak filmmaking went through a rough period easy way to experiment and detect the best pos- between the years 1993 and 2000, with the rise of sible funding options. Children’s content definitely Since 2011 RTVS started to co-produce original TV capitalism and consequently, privatisation. Bratisla- deserves special protection measures in the current bedtime stories, like the successful MIMI AND LISA va Film Studios were closed overnight and left to fight against the titans (feature fiction films for by Katarína Kerekesová (Fool Moon) - in 2015 the wreck, even if they were the only ones producing adult audiences). Even if content for children was second series was completed. A new TV bedtime content for children at that time. Filmmaking rose from 2011-2014 one of the fund’s priorities, the re- series THE TOTS (Drobci) by Vanda Raýmanová and (almost) from the dead with the establishment of sults of the funding didn’t confirm this. In 2010 the Michal Struss (Objectif) was broadcasted by RTVS the Slovak Audio-visual Fund in 2009. content for kids was supported by 15% of all mo- over last year’s Christmas. THE TOTS are two little ney granted by the fund, in 2011 it was only 4,8%, boys discovering the world through naive games, Nowadays Slovak producers of children’s cont- in 2012 (4%) even less. From then on, numbers fluc- visually based on the successful short film WHO’S ent (shorts, feature-length and TV formats) have tuated in 2013 (16%), 2014 (25% - wow!) and 2015 THERE by Vanda Raymanová. These two projects two main funding sources. The largest grants for (only 12%). In the Audio-visual Fund’s plans for are representing Slovak TV’s progressive policy. children’s film production are awarded by the Au- 2017, no priority is given to content for children. That’s why we were happy to find out that THE dio-visual Fund, based on the decisions of an expert TOTS have another 6 episodes in the making and committee. Their support for film and TV projects Another possible funding source is national broad- Katarína Kerekesová is preparing a new series THE includes grants for development, production, distri- caster RTVS (Radio & Television Slovakia). Being the WEBSTERS, 13 animated episodes for children and

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velopment of original Slovak material for children. I belong to a generation formed after the revolution (1989) and in those days we felt a strong urge to re- ject all animated content for children. As the result of a historical context: for decades all Slovak anima- ted content produced by the state studios and natio- nal television had been solely dedicated to children. That‘s the reason why in post-revolutionary years in many former socialist countries, mainly artistic ani- mated films for adults were produced by the new The Websters generation. However, after a while we returned to Heart of a Tower our roots and picked up again the artistic work for parents about a family of spiders. THE WEBSTERS young people, as it has a strong psychological, cul- will be made on a €1 million budget, with 30-40% tural and social impact on our children and a bigger that are now co-producing with RTVS all those in- expected to be covered by Slovak TV. TV content potential for distribution than arthouse cinema. No- teresting series for children. What producers need for children is currently also produced by Jaroslav wadays, thanks to a renewed interest from national mostly, is a strong passion for animation, and ent- Baran (Animoline - his MR. TOTI series will be a Po- broadcaster RTVS and the Slovak Audio-visual Fund, husiasm for the story’s subject. We were, and still lish-Slovak co-production). Jaroslav Niňaj (Polygon few producers get the chance to work intensively are enthusiastic. We’re currently producing one epi- Production) is working on GREEK MYTHS (Grécke on high quality content. Unfortunately, still it is my sode every 4 months, which is probably the fastest báje) while Ivan Popovič (My Studio) continues his opinion that we need a more personal interest from pace of producing on our conditions and according work on the cycle IF I ONLY HAD A SCREW LOOSE! specific authors, as well as a consistent concept for to our demand for quality.” (Mať tak o koliesko viac!), broadcasted in 2015. a planned production of original content.” Good luck, Slovak producers! However, there are no regular slots for indepen- What is your experience as producer of Slovak TV – dent short films for children. What a pity. Luckily series? Eva Pa we still have those original bedtime stories, as the Raymanová: “Our biggest problem is the lack of only thing to cling on to, together with the anima- models, and of experienced people understanding ted feature HEART OF A TOWER (directed by Peter the technology of animation in the process of pro- Budnský) that is currently in development. ducing TV series. We are all in the front line. Like With Vanda Raymanová, Slovak director and pro- Peter Budinský’s company Plutoon (see next page) ducer who just finished the first 7 episodes of THE producing HEART OF A TOWER, they’ll be the first TOTS, we found a ‘voice from the floor’ to comment: ones to deliver an animated feature for children Vanda Raymanová: “It seems like we woke up from a made on professional terms. Or like us (with Kata long period of sleep. I see a positive trend in the de- Kerekešová), building the first animation studios,

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Good Slovak practice: the estimated budget is €2,2 million. BFILM & Studio Plutoon The second result is the animated all-ages-docu- mentary ONCE THERE WAS A SEA… (Joanna Ko- Friendship in the zuch), telling stories from the glittering bottom of the dying Aral Sea, that will also include interactive animation industry media.

Last but not least is CRISS-CROSS, a short animated duction company was just a logical next step after film by Nina Turčanová, introducing children to a A small market, like the Slovak animation indus- his successful work as freelancer on national and in- world of animal heroes. A world based on the same try, has its advantages and disadvantages. The ternational animated shorts. Plutoon is now active social principles that rule the human world: forest most positive aspect is that everybody in the in all stages of the filmmaking and animation pro- friends together experience love, joy, gratitude, as business knows each other, and together you can cess, mastering the entire scale of animation pro- well as pride, shame or anger. An in the end, “a fri- develop the best possible creative environment. duction. In its portfolio Plutoon has animated com- end in need is a friend indeed,” whether he has arms Like this special partnership between production mercials for advertising companies, visual design and legs, or paws and claws. company Bfilm (www.bfilm.sk) and animation stu- for TV shows, special effects for commercial events, dio Plutoon (www.plutoon.sk), working together illustrations, compositing and storyboarding etc. If you’re interested in any of these projects, come to in a close relationship. find Eva Pa for more information, [email protected]. Both companies share the same main objective: pro- – Production company Bfilm, based in Bratislava, ducing challenging and unique films of artistic value works on the development and production of mo- for a broad audience, and for all dogs in the world! vies in all genres and formats. Bfilm has the ambiti- They’re working together in different stages of ani- on to help young authors in making their films and mation, dramaturgy, scriptwriting and production. presenting them successfully, both in Slovakia and The first result (for children) of this mutual friends- abroad. With their passion for animation and cont- hip will be HEART OF A TOWER, an animated fea- emporary cinema, for Bfilm international collabora- ture for a family audience, directed by Peter Budin- tion is a natural way of working, supporting Slovak sky (see ECFA Journal #4 2016). Little boy Riki has creators to succeed abroad and meanwhile embra- to go far beyond the borders of gloomy everyday cing new perspectives for the Slovak industry. stereotypes, to find the magical world Yourland, where ravens act like humans, construction cranes Plutoon is an independent production company walk like robots and metal machines rule the world. founded in 2013 by Pluto, a dog (!) and its animator Riki vigorously has to enter this world to save it, and Once There was a Sea... and director Peter Budinsky. Starting his own pro- reveal the truth. The premiere is planned for 2020,

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Teenage revelation: teenager, life is a fast-way. Straight from your safe haven, you land in a wild My First Highway and puzzling adventure. This is Benja- min’s first big adventure.”

Colours Everything remained the Roggeman: “My favourite scene was same, but everything had changed Meul made some interesting choices, shooting a gun. Not with real bullets, like keeping the adults literally out of but still I didn’t except the shock to be the picture (you only hear them) gi- so strong, which made my reaction look ving room to the two youngsters to perfectly natural.” Benjamin spends the holidays with turbulent youth, and it felt like I had to fully carry the movie. And the use of Meul: “We had everything on camera: his parents. On a Spanish campsite, grow responsible too fast. When you‘re colour motifs in an explicitly notable blood, splattering brains… But all that Benjamin – a dreamy 16 years old – young, there’s nothing you want more way. „Each character has its own colour. got overpowered by Aäron’s sponta- falls in love. His holiday sweetheart than acting like an adult. But once that Benjamin is always dressed in innocent, neous reaction. That’s why we kept tho- (whose name we never get to know), time has come, there is a nostalgia, as if peaceful blue. As the film progresses, se images in the movie.” though beautiful and intriguing, is you want to be young and brash again. the tint becomes increasingly darker, a wounded soul. While Benjamin That’s a feeling I wanted to assimilate almost black. Red represents love and has the time of his life, she drags in this story. I hope some elements will passion, but also danger, which is asso- him into an adventure that takes a look familiar to a young audience, while ciated with the girl. The brown, beige dangerous turn. This summer will older people might remember certain tones of the parents stand for stead- be engraved forever in Benjamin‘s key-emotions: the last holiday spent fastness. „ memory: “Everything remained the with your parents, the first love...“ same. But everything had changed.“ Favourite scenes – Belgian director Kevin Meul’s fea- Coming-of-age Interview: Lessen in het Donker ture debut is a beautiful coming-of- Meul: “My favourite scene is when the age film. Kevin Meul: “Benjamin is not gradually, two youngsters on the beach for the watch trailer but brutally pushed into the age of ma- first time talk to each other. With only Kevin Meul: “There is always a personal turity. In this case literally ‘with a bang’. few elements, many things are hap- reason to tell a story, and all my stories MY FIRST HIGHWAY is a coming-of-age pening there. Hardly knowing each are about young people. Maybe that story about a boy discovering about other, the connection is made through has to do with my own age, and my pro- love and life simultaneously in the most a silly game, based on the fact that girls tagonists over the years will grow up fantastic but horrible way.” can’t do sound effects. Did you ever try? alongside with me. I myself had a rather Aäron Roggeman (Benjamin): “For a It’s true: girls absolutely can’t.”

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ECFA Journal ECFA Journal No. 1 - 2017 Published by ECFA European Children’s Film Association Contributors to this issue: Rue du Pavillon 3, B-1030 Bruxelles Gert Hermans (Editor) Phone: +32 (0)2 242 54 09 Reinhold Schöffel Fax: +32 (0)2 242 74 27 Felix Vanginderhuysen E-mail: [email protected]; [email protected] Céline Ravenel Website: www.ecfaweb.org Elise van Beurden Gudrun Sommer Please send press releases, advertisements, questions & information to: Viola Gabrielli Gert Hermans, [email protected] Julia Niessen Monica Wahi ECFA’s goal is to support cinema for children and youth in its cultural, economical, Kerdi Oengo aesthetic, social, political and educational aspects. Since 1988 ECFA brings to- Katleen Goossens gether a wide range of European film professionals and associations, producers, Alice Goezu directors, distributors. ECFA aims to set up a working structure in every European Anja Horckmans country for films for children and young people, a structure adapted to Europe’s Niklas Teng multicultural interests. Sigrid Klausmann Delphine Dumon For more information and memberships (€ 200 per year): Stefan Stiletto ECFA Sannette Naeyé European Children’s Film Association Phone: +32 (0)2 242 54 09 Eszter Vuojala E-mail: [email protected] Eva Pa www.ecfaweb.org Lessen in het Donker

The European Children’s Film Distribution Network: Proofreading: Adam Graham www.ecfaweb.org/european-childrens-film-network/network Design: Sam Geuens Databases on children’s film festivals, sales agents, distributors and ECFA website: Udo Lange & Sam Geuens TV-programmers interested in European films for children.

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