Introducing the keynote speaker of the Industry Forum...

With three months to go, we are excited to bring you the first programme announcement for Cinekid for Professionals, taking place in Amsterdam this October.

The theme of this year’s festival, and the Industry Forum is ‘Time travel,’ where we will explore linking up different time periods through the eyes of children and makers. What have previous generations left us, and what will we pass on to those who come after? Cinekid issues an invitation to discover, reflect and imagine. We celebrate the past and look back, but above all forward: how do we want the future world to be?

We start our exploration with our keynote speaker Thor Svanholm Gustavfson, Senior Advisor at the Copenhagen Institute for Futures Studies, Project Lead at Teach the Future Denmark, and Member of the Steering Committee at the Danish Coalition for Future Generations.

Children grow up surrounded by stories about the future. But what kind of futures are they being offered? Across news, social media, and popular culture, we tend to see the same recurring narratives - centred around technological breakthroughs, crisis or climate collapse. What’s often missing are futures that invite nuance, care, and co-creation. If we want children to have a different future, we need to give them different stories to grow up with.

In his keynote, Thor makes the case for strengthening what UNESCO calls ‘Futures literacy’ - the ability to imagine and use the future - in different ways - to prepare, adapt and innovate in a world marked by uncertainty and constant change.

This year, CfP launched two new partnerships with the International Animation Film Market (Mifa) and Bogota Audiovisual Market. Projects featured at both markets were eligible for the Cinekid for Professionals Prize, offering fast-track selections to the Junior Co-Production Market this October.

At Mifa, Head of Film & Series Hidde de Vries and CfP Coordinator Jessica Cohen awarded The Star-Child – a beautiful Irish animation TV special from directors Paul Ruttledge and Jack O’Shea (Eat The Danger). At BAM, the Prize went to Poli – a whimsical and heartfelt animated film from Colombia, directed by David Andrés Mesa (Bombillo Amarillo studio)

Meanwhile, the JCM selection committee is hard at work reviewing the viability and artistic quality of the submissions. This year, the committee includes: Edgar Daarnhouwer (Paradiso Filmed Entertainment, Netherlands), Judit Foz Povill (DeAPlaneta Entertainment, Spain), and producer Jakub Kostal (Bionaut, Czech Republic), alongside CfP staff.

With three months to go till the market, we expect tough but fruitful competition with an almost 35% increase in applications since last year.

To hear Thor Svanholm Gustavfson’s keynote at the Industry Forum or see The Star-Child and Poli pitch at Junior Co-production Market - get your accreditation today. You can also explore other opportunities for the visit, by either gaining access to an online film library ScreeningClub or buying the Festival Badge to enjoy the Cinekid screenings in person.

While we are fine-tuning the final schedule for our upcoming event, we are excited to provide a preliminary version to highlight key programmes and help you plan your visit to Cinekid for Professionals.

Tuesday, 21 October

• Industry Forum (keynote and round tables)
• Opening of Cinekid for Professionals

Wednesday, 25 October

• Junior Co-production Market (pitches & 1:1 meetings)
• Awards Ceremony and Industry Party

Thursday, 26 October

• Junior Co-production Market (1:1 meetings)