Get up to speed on children’s media trends during Cinekid’s Industry Forum on Wednesday 19 October, with professionals from all over the world sharing their experiences.
How do we protect the legacy of iconic children’s media? To which new creative realms will AI bring us? Where do we stand with diversity and inclusion in children’s content? These are but a couple of questions raised and discussed during Cinekid’s Industry Forum. Through keynotes and a panel in the morning and interactive round table sessions in the afternoon, the Forum’s programme aims to inspire and challenge the audience to explore a variety of current topics in the field of children’s media.
Morning programme
Join our plenary morning programme together with our moderator Hugo Emmerzael to get inspired and immersed in the world of storytelling.
Heads Together! - by Job Roggeveen
Heads Together - by Job Roggeveen
It's been a while since Job, Joris and Marieke founded their creative studio in 2007, and in the past fifteen years they've snatched accolades such as an International Emmy for their film Kop Op and a nomination for an Oscar for their short film A Single Life. Job Roggeveen, one of the three, is joining us to introduce the creations of Job, Joris and Marieke and the way these three friends started exchanging heads, in real life as well as in imagination.
Playful Machine Learning - by Andreas Refsgaard
Playful Machine Learning - by Andreas Refsgaard
Moving on from the imaginary and visionary world of Fiep Westendorp, we will thread into what for many of us still might be an abstract concept: artificial intelligence. Stories can be told across different platforms, but also through various sources and artists. So, how does synthetic creation (content created artificially) relate to authentic (often more traditional) creation? In times when there are so many programmes that can create any kind of image that we want, or even write (often not very appealing) science fiction stories, is it necessary for us to start thinking about the nature of synthetic and authentic creation? Danish creative coder Andreas Refsgaard will argue that everyone in the creative business could use artificial intelligence for their benefit in some way, but not without knowing all the ins and outs of what it can do. In his keynote, Andreas will talk about the intersection between creativity and machine learning and use playful examples to show the audience what the use of AI can mean for our understanding of creativity.
About Andreas Refsgaard
Andreas Refsgaard is an artist and creative coder based in Copenhagen. Working in the field between art and interaction design he uses algorithms, coding and machine learning to explore the creative potentials of emerging digital technologies. His playful, somewhat wacky and often interactive works are characterised by a naive and openminded approach, which questions and exposes both the possible benefits and drawbacks of the applied technologies in a straightforward and unassuming manner.
His works have been published in New Scientist, Vice, Gizmodo, PSFK and Designboom, awarded by Interaction Awards and Core77 and exhibited in museums and at festivals across the world.
A Thing or Two We Picked Up on Inclusion and Diversity - Expert Panel
A Thing or Two We Picked Up on Inclusion and Diversity - Expert Panel
After diving into building worlds and introduction to various examples of content creation, we will explore the current state of media production from a different angle, through a conversation that has already been going on for a while in the entertainment industry. Awareness has been raised about the importance of inclusivity regarding the representation of reality and recognisability of media content, especially in children's media, but it’s a topic we need to keep stimulating to gain further knowledge from one another and give the floor to different perspectives. In this panel we will talk about the improvements that we can see that have already taken place and what still needs to be improved with the utmost priority. What are the immediate challenges in achieving these goals and what have the experiences been of professionals in the industry as of late? The panel will be a measurement of where we are now. We will combine a personal and more structural view on the subjects, by inviting speakers to share personal experiences about dealing with inclusivity and diversity in their daily practice. The focus will be on children's content: how to be inclusive in specifically creating, broadcasting, and showcasing content for a younger audience? What do you need to take into consideration when it comes to creating media for a young audience and how do you navigate the arising challenges accordingly? The aim of the panel is to leave the audience with ideas about what they can improve in their own practice when thinking about inclusive children's content.
With:
Amira Duynhouwer – writer and director
Sebastian Markt – Head of Berlinale Generation
Serlina Boyd – Founder and Publishing Director at Cocoa Publishing
Moderated by Hugo Emmerzael
About Sebastian Markt
Sebastian Markt has been head of the Generation section since September 2022.
He studied history in Vienna and Berlin and has spent time working in arthouse cinemas. He joined the Generation team in 2013 and has been jointly responsible for coordinating the section’s programme since the 2015 festival, most recently as head of programming for the Generation feature-length film selection. As a curator and festival programmer, Sebastian Markt is also actively involved in the Kurzfilm Festival Hamburg and junges dokfest in Kassel. In addition, he has been a film critic since 2012 for publications including Sissy, Perlentaucher and Die Zeit. He is a founding member of the Hauptverband Cinephilie (cinephilia association) where he works chiefly in cultural film education.
About Serlina Boyd
Serlina Boyd is the founder of Cocoa, the UK’s first Black children’s magazines (Cocoa Girl and Cocoa Boy). These magazines were driven by a desire to build her then 6-year old daughter’s confidence after she experienced bullying at school because of the colour of her skin. Publishing Cocoa Girl has been an empowering journey for her and her family and especially her daughter (who is also the editor). In 4 weeks, the magazine grew a readership of over 10,000 children! The overwhelming positive feedback and demand for the magazines confirm the crucial need to build a strong community for young Black girls and boys who are often misrepresented by mainstream media.
As a qualified childcare provider and having worked in the publishing industry for 18 years, launching Cocoa Publishing has given Serlina the opportunity to combine her passion for children and the media. Cocoa magazines are tackling the deep-rooted problem of the underrepresentation of Black people in the media.
About Amira Duynhouwer
Amira Duynhouwer (28) is an Amsterdam-based screenwriter and director. She enjoys moving between different genres, writing for crime, youth, thriller, romantic and drama series (while very much hoping for a sci-fi project to come her way at some point). In the three years since she’s graduated she’s worked in various writers rooms and directed several short films. She is working on a crime series for Disney+ at the moment while simultaneously developing her debut Sugar.
Afternoon programme
Divided over 10 tables with their own theme each, the afternoon programme consists of round table sessions where the audience is invited to join the conversation with professionals from the field. From diverse backgrounds, the speakers at the Industry Forum will share their own take on, and experiences within children’s media – from creation to distribution, from slow media to transmedia. Guests are invited to enter the dialogue and get exclusive insights into these creative minds and their working practices.