The 12th DOXS RUHR Film Festival (Germany) and the DK4 Alliance is inviting film professionals to an October 28 Think Tank on documentaries for young audiences.
“At a time where young audiences are atomised and rarely use traditional media, while threats to freedom of information and free speech are increasing, what can we do to reach them?” organisers ask. “What kind of documentaries should we be making that not only engage young audiences but also provide them with a view of the world beyond their own? How can we better support the creation of documentaries for young people? What needs to change, and in which direction(s) can we evolve and collaborate?”
The Think Tank will address story development, production, distribution, and networking of creative documentaries for younger audiences (and everybody else). Two workshops will focus on production & development and building strategies for including young, future viewers in the co-creation process, and explore distribution, networking structures and synergies.
“The Think Tank will question how we can improve the framework conditions for production; what current structures and distribution mechanisms dominate the documentary market for children and young people, as well as broader and dominant audiences,” organisers add.
Over the summer, a working group gathered production data to inform this Think Tank. Research interviews with industry representatives on their experiences with children documentaries are accompanied by a questionnaire encouraging participants from across Europe to share their insights into country-specific conditions for a comprehensive status report.This report will be used as a lobbying and advocacy tool for creating and updating conditions for production and distribution of works for young audiences across Europe, write organisers.
A selected group of 25 filmmakers, producers, editors, distributors, festival curators, film funding representatives, and marketing experts will join the workshops.
Hosts are Karolina Śmigiel (Let’s Doc,PL), Viola Gabrielli and Zofia Horszczaruk (Young Horizons Industry, PL) in collaboration with festival director Gudrun Sommer (DOXS RUHR, DE) and the members of the D4K alliance*
The Think Tank will also include a public panel entitled ‘The Power of Purpose’, moderated by Johanna Faltinat (script consultant/diverse storytelling, DE). The topic of this discussion questions how documentaries for younger audiences can challenge preconceived notions and will connect content and aesthetic considerations with questions of representation and responsibility. Guest speakers are Farnaz Sassanzadeh (FilmMachtMut / Vision Kino Berlin, DE), Niki Padidar (filmmaker and curator / IDFA, NL), and Ömer Alkin (media scholar and cultural theorist, DE).
“YES–Young European Realities initiative is starting point of a series of events that will focus on creative documentaries for younger audiences,” write organisers. “It features a wide range of get togethers that bolster constructive and critical exchange and create platforms for industry professionals to not only connect with each other but strengthen a voice and demands for steps to move forward.”
The festival writes how, back in 2022, with the support of Goethe Institute, it initiated a network meeting in Bochum called REALITIES “to exchange experiences and perspectives among representatives of the European children documentary industry scene.”
Broadcasters, festival and market representatives, distributors and producers discussed the development, production and distribution of creative documentary films for younger audiences across the audiovisual landscape in Europe.
Out of this came the D4K Alliance*, the aim of which is “to strengthen networks and foster knowledge transfer at the European level to drive change.” The D4K Alliance members are:
- Anne Rethfeldt, DAE (Documentary Association Europe), DE
- Anne Schultka and Elisabeth Wenk, Golden Sparrow Festival / Kids Regio, DE
- Davide Tosco, AIACE, IT
- Gudrun Sommer, DOXS RUHR / ECFA, DE / BE
- Karolina Śmigiel, Andrzej Wajda Center for Film Culture / LET’S DOC, PL
- Margret Albers, ECFA / Förderverein Deutscher Kinderfilm, BE / DE
- Meike Statema / Marije Veenstra, IDFA, NL
- Viola Gabrielli, Young Horizons, PL
The D4K Alliance Mission Statement says how it:
- is committed to ensuring that the production and distribution of documentaries for young audiences (and everybody else) is taken seriously on a professional level in Europe and beyond.
- asks for more visibility of the documentary films in festivals, cinemas and other distribution channels.
- believes in the power of storytelling.
- believes that creative documentaries are a fundamental tool to establish cultural awareness.
- believes that creative documentaries can create and shape the cultural identity to challenge preconceived notions while sharing perspectives, and giving insight into the nuances of different lived experiences.
