Just Film and Just Film Industry Days Communication Manager Martina Tramberg crucially asks: “How do you create a type of film literacy in kids and talk to them in a way that keeps them engaged?”. You can debate the present and the future of children and youth film during Just Film Industry Days. The event is held between November 20th and 22nd in the Estonian capital. It is part of the Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event, which is part of the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival PÖFF.

The panels and discussions are not aimed exclusively at filmmakers and industry professionals. This year’s edition will also see an international and education expansion, according to Kärt Väinola, the Just Film Industry Days & Just Film Works in Progress Manager. The numbers suggest that they are on the right track: “Just Film Festival has an attendance of around 20,000 kids and young audiences. We get plenty of school visitations together with teachers, but also families and parents come who want to see through their kids eyes.”.

Now on its 24th edition, Just Film showcases approximately 50 movies per year, and from every corner of the globe. That’s not bad at all, particularly if compared to the total number of such films produced in Europe. According to the European Children’s Film Association, the old continent produced only 169 children’s movies last year, and a mere 34 this year thus far.

KIDS Regio, a lobby initiative for high-quality and multi-faceted European Children’s Films, and new partner of Just Film, classifies children’s films as “films mainly aimed at children up to 12 years of age”. Just Film adopted the same definition. Youth films are movies targeted at people aged 13 to 18.

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Plenty of fish in the Baltic Sea 

Just Film Industry Days boasts an impressive array of partners and supporting activities. The initiative has grown to include two pitching sessions. The market reintroduced the Eurimages Co-Production Development Award, with films in the children’s and youth film category also competing for the subsidy of 20,000€. Pitching will take place in the afternoon of November 20th. Works In Progress includes Seven to eight international projects. Documentaries and animations aimed at children and youth are also welcome, in addition to the more traditional fiction features. The award takes place on November 22nd .

A three-year partnership with KIDS Regio gets launched this year. It will create a discussion forum and networking opportunities for children and youth filmmakers. KIDS Regio will also share the results of their latest European research, Keeping up with children as an audience, delving into the viewing habits of kids aged 7-11.

The Fuck Up Night, also in partnership with KIDS Regio, is a place where professionals can talk about their failures, discuss solutions, and realise the importance of learning from your mistakes and moving forward.

The growing interest in children’s movies has also reached the academic side of the coin. Just Film Industry Days is also joining forces with Baltic Film and Media School. The initiative is called Exploring the Patterns & Preferences of Next-Gen Viewership. Starting in September. ”They will research the marketing and distribution strategies of three or four films that will be in our Youth Film Programme” Just Film Industry Days Coordinator Kärt Väinola explains. Once the industry section is running, they will present the results.

The launch of a children’s and youth film category in the Baltic Event’s Co-Production Market will shine the spotlight on Just Films Industry Days. The initiative encompasses full-length features, documentaries, and animations, plus it’s now incorporating AI.

Väinola expresses her satisfaction: “I think it’s important that we are growing and bringing more attention to youth and children’s films that are already in the developmental phase”. Tramberg adds: “We are also adding more films to the Works in Progress section. Sometimes it’s not so easy to find your audience. Some good movies stay in the shadows” .

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Reach for a child

Makers of children’s films worry whether they will reach these audiences at all once they move from the festival circuit to local theatres, television and streaming. The industry must monitor and adapt to the fast-changing consumer habits of young people.

Children remain avid film consumers. A recent study by the Danish Film Institute reveals that Danish children watch films more often than adults. A significant 14% indicate that they watch films daily or almost daily. Nearly half of them (47%) go to the cinema quarterly, as opposed to 35% of adults. And they use the same streaming services. A pan-European study is due for publication on October 31st. That’s the same research KIDS Regio and PUBLIKUM will also introduce at Just Film.

So, how do you reach these keen cinema lovers?

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If I could speak all the languages of children

The film industry has a notable generational divide. It is mostly adults who create content for children and young people, and they have different sensibilities. “I was talking with a film director who said that she’s struggling with how to choose the film language for the children to be engaged,” Tramberg continues, “there is a big gap in how we see and feel the world”.

This gap could close as young filmmakers, and digital natives follow in the footsteps of those before them.

Panel talks will address how best to approach young people. “The current problem we are tackling today is how to develop a new audience since everyone is so scattered with their attention,” Tramberg pours her heart out.

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No child’s play

Finding the right children’s and youth film strategy is not a walk in the park. Panellist Janne Vierth of the Swedish Film Institute recommends: “Define your audience. Demand to take part in the marketing and distribution plans. Think outside the box when it comes to visibility”. He then questions: “are printed media and TikTok the only routes for your film to the audience’s hearts?”

Modern children’s movies have also become increasingly complex in their narrative, their structure, and their messages. The two Paddington movies (Paul King, 2014 and 2017) may seem fluffy and colourful at first, yet they deal with the issues of compassion, belonging, inclusion and identity. This year’s Oscar contender Robot Dreams (Pablo Berger, 2023; pictured above) examines the need for friendship, as well as the dependency on technology, memory and forgiveness. Youth films too have stepped up their game: How to Have Sex (Molly Manning Walker, 2023; pictured above) addresses sexual consent, peer pressure, party culture and coming of age. “We’re not afraid to talk about really harsh subjects. We’re not sugarcoating. The range is quite big”, ponders Tramberg.

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A learning tool

Films can be educational. In France, the generic school curriculum includes film studies. In Germany, the German Federation of Film Clubs for Children and Young People has a catalogue of 500 feature films to be screened at schools. In Estonia, PÖFF launched the e-learning platform PÖFF Film School in 2021, aimed at Estonian general schools.

The objective of these initiatives is to bring film education to young people, and also to create a collective memory. Film education can lead to different levels of media literacy. This is contingent on the quality of what’s being shown.  Väinola explains: “There is a lot of content for kids out there, but often there is a lack of quality”. Films that seek to educate often lapse into preachiness. “That bothers kids,” Väinola continues. “Kids learn something from everything, they are really smart about that. It doesn’t have to be this forced moment”.

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The filmmakers of tomorrow

Viewing young people purely as consumers is short-sighted. That’s why Just Film is holding a #youngfilmmaker international competition programme, allowing students and youngsters to submit their work for the Just Film Festival. Some of this work gets included in Just Film Industry Days’s programme, and it’s showcased in the industry backstage. This year’s edition includes a one-day mobile filmmaking workshop.

Very few directors start making film as a child or a teen. Steven Spielberg is one notable exception. He shot The Last Gun (1959), Escape to Nowhere (1961), and Firelight (1964) aged 12, 14 and 17 respectively. With the vast availability of technology nowadays, here’s hoping for many Spielbergs of tomorrow in the making!

By removing the hurdles in an unequal industry, and giving young, budding filmmakers the tools, the platform and the feedback, Just Film seeks to level the playing field and to make unsung, more diverse voices heard.

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A lesson in humility

Makers of children’s films of today should “seize the narrative and stop apologising for the work we do”, Vierth opines. Instead, they should take pride in what they do. Children’s films are a very serious grown-up affair.

Making movies for children and young people can be “a lesson in humility”, according to Mexcian filmmaker Alfonso Cuarón. He laughed it off when he was first offered to direct the third Harry Potter instalment in the early 2000s. He only changed his mind after Guillermo del Toro called him out: “you’re a fuckin’ arrogant bastard”. Cuarón injected his own personal narrative and aesthetic devices into the youth film, and elevated it onto a higher cinematic plane. Ultimately, he made a movie classic that appeals to people of all ages.

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Treat children as human beings

Filmmakers such as Cuarón are also telling strong stories that encourage kids to think for themselves. In Oscar-winning The Boy and the Heron (2023; pictured above), legendary Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki crafts a morally ambiguous and tormented protagonist, split between anger and his desire to shield his auntie from reality. In Pinocchio (2022), Guillermo del Toro plays with the love of outsiders and monsters. Upon closer inspection, the film a crystal-clear denunciation of fascism in Italy.

Auteur navel-gazing is not necessarily the way forward. Wes Anderson’s animated adventure The Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009) may look like a children’s film, yet the abundance of idiosyncratic devices ensures it remains firmly on adult territory. Stop-motion classic Coraline (Henry Selick; pictured above), which just celebrated its 15th anniversary with a cinema rerelease, is mostly appreciated by grown-ups.

Filmmakers need to understand what children really, really want. Children want to be entertained. Children want to have fun. But they also want to be challenged. And it is possible to challenge these film lovers without losing sight of their needs. Vierth concludes “[It is time] to start treating kids as humans”. Filmmakers should “ challenge them in the same way that we want to be challenged by culture”.

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This piece is a co-publication in partnership with the Industry@Tallinn and Baltic Event.