This October, the Junior Co-Production Market will return to Pathé Amsterdam Noord during the 2024 edition of Cinekid for Professionals (cinekid.nl). This year, 19 projects will be presented to the industry, including 11 films, seven series and one work-in-progress. The selection include five animated films and six animated series. The professionals program runs alongside the 2024 Cinekid Film Festival, October 29 – November 1.
Submissions came from a wide range of regions. New participating countries include Estonia, Nepal and Nigeria (with Time Skippers directed by Somto Ajuluchukwu). Cinekid also welcomes back Czech director Filip Pošivač (Tony, Shelly and the Magic Light, which was selected for JCM 2018 and the film festival in 2023) with his new animated feature project, The Axolotls. Local animation is represented in Millie and the Secret of the Crocodile by Esben Toft Jacobsen, a co-production between Sweden, Denmark and the Netherlands.
Several of the stories presenting this year use time travel to push their narratives. In Time Skippers, four friends discover a time machine which sets off their adventure, while in The Sorcerer’s Eye, a girl travels through the world of art via history’s most celebrated paintings. Environmental issues are addressed in Sissi & Caesar, a stop-motion animated series about two rainbow penguins who travel the world with a mission: to restore the lost colors of nature.
“As we prepare to showcase yet another edition of the Junior Co-production Market, I want to take a moment to acknowledge the artistic talent and inspiration that came our way this year,” commented Sara Juričić, Head of Cinekid for Professionals. “Whether we’re talking about living and breathing siblings saving each other or little aquatic animals saving their community, these stories remind us of the importance of connection and responsibility, not just to each other but the world around us. Many of these projects are brought to life through films, but we’re also seeing a growing number of series each year. That’s why we are particularly proud to present the Council of Europe Series Co-production Development Award this year, an initiative within the Council of Europe’s pilot program for Series Co-Productions.”
For the first time this year, Cinekid is participating in the pilot program for Series Co-productions launched by the Council of Europe and therefore gets to award one project with the Council of Europe Series Co-production Development Award, worth €50,000 (~$55,770 USD). This initiative aims to facilitate independent producers’ access to series development funding and foster creative collaboration as foundations for future co-productions.
In addition, there are three other awards that will be awarded to projects from the selection. The best feature film project with European co-production potential intended for cinema release will receive the prestigious Eurimages Co-Production Development Award worth €20,000. The PUBLIKUM Audience Awareness Award is worth €9,000 and given in services of the Danish business consultancy Will & Agency, who also hands it out. Lastly, the Filmmore Post-Production Award comes with a €5,000 prize and will go to the best live-action project and awarded in services of the postproduction house. The winners for the different awards will be announced on Thursday, October 31.
Animated Projects
The Axolotls (film) 8+
Directed by Filip Pošivač
Written by Stepanka Ansorge
Production Company: Bionaut
Produced by Bára Chaberova
Production Country: Czech Republic
Billy & the Boingo Band (series) 4+
Directed by Shabnam Rezaei
Written by Ravi Steve Khajuria, Claire Handley
Production Companies: Big Bad Boo Vienna, Paper Owl Films
Produced by Paddy Gillen, Grainne McGuinness
Production Countries: Austria, Canada, Northern Ireland
Caramel’s Words (feature) 8+
Directed by Salvador Simó
Written by Salvador Simó, Eligio R. Montero
Production Companies: Les Films du Cygne (FR), Sygnatia (ES) Produced by Alexandre Charlet, Xosé Zapata
Production Countries: France, Spain
Crunch Crunch Farm (series) 3+
Directed by Olha Yevtieieva
Written by Damien O’Connor, Doireann Langton
Production Company: Distillery Films
Produced by Jonathan Clarke
Production Country: Ireland
The Legend of Salamanders (feature) 8+
a.k.a. The Island of Salamanders
Directed by Catherine Maximoff
Written by Catherine Maximoff
Production Company: Les Contes Modernes
Produced by Patrice Nezan
Production Countries: France, Slovakia, Germany
Millie and the Secret of the Crocodile (feature) 5+
Directed by Esben Toft Jacobsen
Written by Esben Toft Jacobsen
Production Companies: Snowcloud Films (SE), Vi Glæder os Preben (DK) and Viking Film (NL)
Produced by Petter Lindblad
Production Countries: Sweden, Denmark, The Netherlands
Puck (series) 3+
Written by Anna-Karin Garhamn, Caroline Drab
Production Company: BCD Film
Produced by Caroline Drab
Production Country: Sweden
Roc & Lola (series) 4+
Directed by Andrea Giro
Written by Samuel Dossi, Marta De Lorenzis
Production Company: Primal Shape S.r.l.
Produced by Andrea Giro
Production Country: Italy
Sissi & Caesar (series) 4+
Directed by Gabriela Villalobos
Written by Sebastian Bisbal
Production Companies: Pangur Animation, Tres tercios studio Produced by Leticia Montalvá, Allan Bortnic
Production Countries: Spain, Chile
The Sorcerer’s Eye (feature) 7+
Directed by Aik Karapetian
Written by Tabita Rudzāte
Production Companies: Mistrus Media
Produced by Inese Boka-Grube, Gints Grūbe
Production Countries: Latvia
Time Skippers: Sankofa Squad (series) 4+
Directed by Somto Ajuluchukwu
Written by Kunle Popoola, Yamakasi Kiyindou
Production Company: VX Animation
Produced by Ekene Nwonye and Somto Ajuluchukwu
Production Country: Nigeria
Live-Action Projects
- Hunnie Summer (feature | 9+) Magnus Production (Serbia)
- I Accidentally Wrote a Book (feature | 9+) Juno11 Pictures, Bind (Hungary/The Netherlands)
- Kittens (feature | 3+) Studio Ruba, Kleine Storm (The Netherlands)
- Lina’s Friends (series | 9+) Eyeworks Film & TV Drama (Belgium)
- My Home Is in the Hills (feature | 8+) Underground Talkies (Nepal)
- Rise of the Water Fox (feature | 10+) Stellar Film (Estonia)
- Rosanna, Jaris and the Otherworld (feature | 6+) tellfilm (Switzerland)
- Scrumple (feature | 4+) Lemming Film (The Netherlands/Belgium)
