Having spent quite some days in preparation, m:brane managing director Lennart Ström and his team are now ready to head over to Malmö’s town hall, built in the 16^th century but fully equipped for everything that’s required for three days of intense activity on all things youth content. Just over 200 delegates from 26 countries are checking in for the latest updates and developments through panels, case studies and project pitches, not to mention some solid networking opportunities.

As is now a regular feature in the Opening Industry Day portion of the event, a focus country will be highlighted – this year, it is Norway, a rightly acclaimed pioneer in the youth field for many years, and especially the last decade. Curated in collaboration with the Norwegian Film Institute (NFI), an elaborate programme will be rolled out, chiefly focusing on the documentary form. The speakers are film commissioner Klara Nilsson Grunning, NFI children and youth advisor Berit Andersen, producer Ingvil Giske (Kids Cup, The Eclipse [+leggi anche:
recensione
intervista: Nataša Urban
scheda film]) and director Kenneth Elvebakk (Hello World).

As part of the ongoing partnership with KIDS Regio, a special insight will be offered into ways to heighten recognition for children’s films and their creators compared to other fields within the cinema landscape. The speakers participating in “Measuring Magic: A Conversation on the Significance of Children's Cinema Culture” are anthropologist Rikke Flodin (Denmark), producer Daniel Ehrenberg (Germany) and Antonia Prochaska, head of film education at the Austrian Film Academy, with KIDS Regio project manager Anne Schultka moderating. The relatively new, but already vital, programme item “m:brane Learning - The Non-Didactic Universe” moves into its second year, taking a close look at science and learning within the youth film culture. “Space for Failure, Space for Tests”, “WTF Is That?”, “Sagarmatha Next” and “Time Travel at Uppåkra” are the intriguing topics on the agenda, and the speakers are Niels Righolt, CEO of the Danish Centre for Arts & Interculture; Danish YouTube science influencer Maria Jarijs; Swedish producer Fredrik Edström; and Swedish science educator and Minecraft aficionado Sofia Winge, with some hand-picked youth experts also providing input. Directly linked to this programme and its participants is the brand-new “m:brane Learning THINK TANK”, a closed session led by m:brane senior creative advisor Annette Brejner, ably aided by Stéphane Malagnac, former head of the PiXii Festival and head of innovation at Sunny Side of the Doc in La Rochelle.

Twenty-five projects at various stages of development will be pitched on 15 and 16 March. Three additional pitches are being presented in the RealYoung strand, specialising in the documentary genre. Plus, as usual, a multitude of one-on-one meetings will take place, likely coming close to last year’s impressive number of 400 rendezvous.

More information on the event can be found here.