History of Cinekid

Back in 1986, the Dutch film industry was flourishing with box office hits like Abel, Flodder, and The Assault. Ten years earlier, the Berlinale had opened up a children’s award, coinciding with the emergence of the first youth film festivals. The time was ripe for Elly and Joke Engel to establish Cinekid. With support from the likes of Bernard Gerrit ‘Burny’ Bos, then director of VPRO’s youth television branch, they organized the first film festival in the Netherlands specifically for children. Elly worked together with scheduler Harry Peters to create an inspiring, internationally programme for children – the first of its kind in the Netherlands.

In 1987, at De Meervaart theatre in Amsterdam Osdorp (where Elly previously worked as a scheduler), the duo set up a ‘television corner’ with one screen, surrounded by cushions. This first edition of Cinekid Festival screened the premiere of the legendary film My Life as a Dog by director Lasse Hallström. Cinekid then shot to national fame thanks to its unique programme of home-grown and international media, as well as the way it brought film and media makers and their young public face-to-face. Together with Peter Nikken from the Netherlands Youth Institute, Elly initiated the annual Kinderkast to further raise visibility of national TV productions.

The success of Cinekid’s programme went beyond the boundaries of Amsterdam: enthusiastic cinemas from all corners of the country began to host local Cinekid festivals. And so Cinekid became – and remains – a festival for all children in the Netherlands. Today, over 40 locations throughout the Netherlands host Cinekid Festival’s films, series, workshops, masterclasses, and MediaLab.

The 1990s, characterized by the rising power of computers and the internet, inspired the curators of Kids&Bits at Amsterdam’s De Balie to take children on a behind-the-scenes filmmaking journey. The children absolutely loved this new way of exploring cinema, so much so that it quickly evolved into today’s MediaLab: 1,000 square metres of interactive art installations, workshops, VR, AR, and games.

In 2001, Cinekid began a new chapter in its journey to become a large international festival for film and media makers and other international industry professionals: Cinekid for Professionals. Lasting several days, this international conference features a market at which film and media makers pitch projects to sales agents, producers, and distributors. They’re free to do the same at networking meetings and even during screenings. Today’s sector-leading event attracts over 400 professionals from 40 countries every year.

Since 2013, Cinekid has also offered talent development programmes for writers, (Script LAB), directors (Directors LAB), and producers (Producers LINK), helping them to level up their projects. The productions that emerge from these programmes receive critical acclaim and spread an important message among a large audience of children.

Eager to give even more children access to high-quality films and media, Cinekid has initiated an educational programme for primary schools. The programme starts with a preparatory lesson that introduces the children to the films they’re going to watch and is supported by a complementary teaching programme at the cinema itself. It’s the ultimate way for children to discover the world of film through play. Cinekid organizes other educational programmes such as Shorts by Kids, where children have five weeks to make their very own film and see it premiere at their local cinema.