Cinekid Festival festively launched with Benjamin Bat’s world premiere

Amsterdam's deputy mayor Hester van Buren and Cinekid Festival Director Heleen Rouw opened the festival together with Benjamin Bat director Patrick Raats and voice actors Fedja van Huêt, Chavah and Stephanie van Eer. Of course, there was also a special role for the Junior Crew. Prior to the film screening, director and screenwriter Lilian Sijbesma received the Burny Bos Eigenwijsprijs 2024 and a cash prize of €5,000 from the VandenEnde Foundation. From Saturday, Cinekid Festival kicked off in several cinemas in the South Province where autumn holidays have now begun.

Besides the makers and voice actors of Benjamin Bat; Fedja van Huêt, Stephanie van Eer, Kasper van Kooten, Karen van Holst Pellekaan -also screenwriter-, our jury for The Best Dutch Children's Film Nina de la Croix, Rick Paul van Mulligen and René van Bakel also made their appearance on the red carpet.

You won't believe it, but Benjamin Bat, the hero in this animation, is afraid of the dark. This is very awkward for an animal that lives at night. During the day, he scavenges at the risk of his life in the twilight. In the process, he must watch out for the sun and scary birds. And then he falls in love with a tropical songbird! This makes his life more exciting, but also more complicated.

The program consists of 106 different films, including 29 feature films, 77 short films from a total of 46 different countries will be screened during Cinekid Festival in Amsterdam. The film How I accidentally wrote a Book (Nora Lakos) will premiere and the short films It's a Sign (Salma Chafouk Idrissi), Mama's Secret (Matthijs van Esveld) and Zomerdromen (Kim Faber). Several series will also festively premiere on the big screen. On Saturday 26 October, the VPRO series Hein (Anna van der Heide) kicks off in the presence of almost the entire cast. On Sunday, the KRONCRV series Van binnen stroomt het (Natalie Bruijns) and the EO series Tentje Plof (Lucas Camps) can be seen. Several series will also premiere the rest of the week and there will be special programme blocks where makers and (voice) actors will be present to answer audience questions. At the special premiere of the documentary series Kinderen voor Kinderen: In Action (Martijn Willemen and Johan van Hespen) will feature a smashing performance by Kinderen voor Kinderen NXT.

Besides films and series, there are workshops and masterclasses and in the MediaLab, children can experiment with new media and play games, as well as cuddle with robotic plants or experience what the world might look like if we walk around with smartglasses, and what is the impact of artificial intelligence when it turns out that your own voice whispers instructions to you that you did not think up yourself. There are a total of 36 installations that can be played and experienced for children from 4 to 14. All immersive installations, workshops and games are dedicated to discovering in your own way. In eight cities across the country there are MediaLab installations, here you can check where all Cinekid locations can be found and be surprised this autumn holiday.

Note to editors, not for publication  

For interview requests, press passes or questions:

Manon de Weerd
m.deweerd@cinekid.nl
+316 817 90 714