In 2025, for the first time, Young Horizons Industry will highlight the country of honour. The full programme for Spotlight on Croatia including the list of the nearly completed projects from Croatia screened during exclusive sneak peek screenings will be announced in September.
The call for the Project Pool, the non-pitching section of the forum, is open now – more on that at the end of the article. Accreditation is open, too.
Record number of submitted projects
Shortlisted from a record number of 111 submissions from 56 countries, 20 projects have been selected for the In-Development, and 4 for the Work-in-Progress pitching sections.
The official selection was recommended by the selection committee: Selma Munksgaard Hansen, Angel Films, Denmark; Julietta Sichel, 8Heads Productions, Czech Republic; Maja Fišter, HRT, Croatia; Jakub Karwowski, Letko, Poland; and Gennarino Romano, Dandelooo, France.
The final selection represents 16 countries (including co-production countries). This year, the projects come from CEE countries: Poland (5), Estonia (3), Czech Republic (2), Croatia (1), Hungary (1), Latvia (1); followed by Germany (4), Denmark (2), France (2), United Kingdom (2), with Belgium, Cyprus, Finland, Ireland, Spain, and Sweden presenting 1 project each.
13 selected films include 7 live-action and 6 animated projects. 11 selected series include 5 animated projects, 5 live-action projects, and 1 live-action with animated elements project.
Like in the previous edition, the majority of projects are aimed at children between 7 and 12 yo (46%), followed by young adults (37%), preschoolers (21%), and teens (12%) (some projects are aimed at two groups, e.g. teens and young adults).
The wide genre range of the selected projects includes comedy, fantasy, crime, drama, and adventure.
The themes are also versatile: from dialogue-free animated series through projects based on popular IPs, and stories that help us fight the fear of nightmares or teach us how to live in peace with technology to deep-seated stories about searching for inner balance and acceptance.
Importantly, the topic of mental health challenges among kids and teens has a strong representation in the selection, with stories focused on hypersensitivity, social anxiety, mental balance, and sense of loneliness, combined with the themes of first love and puberty, inclusivity and tolerance. It seems that the rise in the interest in mental health comes from the broader discussion about the wellbeing of young people nowadays.
But of course, the selection wouldn’t be complete without stories about the power of friendship and feel-good adventure movies suitable for family co-viewing on weekends at the cinema, on TV, or a streaming platform.
LIST OF THE SELECTED PROJECTS
In Development
- 25%, live-action series, Cinebonbon, Czech Republic
- Ann Was Here, live-action series, Allfilm OÜ, Estonia
- The Babirusa, animated film, Tchack, France
- Children of the Wind Mother, animated film, Filmfabriq/Ulab, Hungary
- Cloudy & Stormy, animated series, Laniakea Pictures, Poland
- Drone City, animated series, MONDE ET MEDIA TV, France
- Headrush, live-action series, Randan, United Kingdom
- Higher Pitch, live-action series, Fíbín Media, Ireland
- A Hundred Days at Home, live-action series, Jamedia Production, Finland
- In Between, animated series, Sparre Production, Denmark
- Megi Zigi Dance, animated series, Animoon, Poland
- Onno & Ontje – Friends Are the Best Gift, animated film, Blaue Pampelmuse, Germany
- Princess Eats Lion, live-action film, Mirikal Filmproduktion, Germany
- Rise of the Water Fox, live-action film, Stellar Film, Estonia
- School of Thieves, live-action film, Bulletproof Cupid, Belgium
- Socks, animated film, Page to Pictures, Poland
- Steel Hearts, animated film, EyeCandyFilm, Denmark, Croatia (awarded direct access at m:brane)
- Summer in the Gardens, live-action film, Running Rabbit Films, Poland
- Superception, live-action film, Delta Film, Poland
- Valentino the Dream Sheep, animated series, Sideways Studios, Germany, Sweden
Work in Progress
- Aliens FC, animated film, Magic Frame Animation, Cyprus, United Kingdom
- Dirt In Your Face, live-action film, Taska Film, Estonia, Germany, Latvia
- Ela’s Top-Secret Diary 2, live-action series with animated elements, Czech Television, Czech Republic
- Like! (A.K.A. A Smartphone Story), animated film, Capitán Araña, Spain
Project Pool – the call is open
The call for projects for the Project Pool, non-pitching section, is open from 2 July to 31 July. Project Pool gives more visibility and opportunities to producers and screenwriters to help them find potential producers or partners and gain feedback without pitching the project on stage. Projects from this section will have a chance to win the PFX award. Both producers and screenwriters can submit a project to the Project Pool.
Details about the projects, Spotlight on Croatia, or Project Pool are available on: industry.younghorizons.pl.
Contact: magda.wylezalek@nowehoryzonty.pl
Young Horizons Industry is co-financed by the Polish Film Institute, Creative Europe MEDIA, and City of Warsaw.
Spotlight on Croatia is organised in cooperation with Croatian Audiovisual Centre.
Our partners: Mazovia Warsaw Film Commission, PFX, Wroclaw Feature Film Studio, FIXAFILM, Animond, No Problemo Music, Łódź Film Fund, Silesia Film Commission, Podkarpackie Regional Film Fund, Krakow Film Fund and Malopolska Film Fund of the Small Forms, Lower Silesian Film Center, Gdansk Film Fund, KIPA – Polish Producers Alliance, SPPA – Polish Animation Producers Association, Cinekid for Professionals, CEE Animation Forum, m:brane, Just Film Industry Days, Animation Production Days, Animarkt, Children’s Media Conference, Coprocity.
Media partners: Cineuropa, Film New Europe, C21 Media, The European Animation Journal, Licensing Magazine, Skwigly, SFP Magazine.
