Of all the major festivals in the world, the Berlinale is unique in presenting a core program section devoted to films for young people. Divided into two competition strands, Kplus and 14plus, Generation offers its young audiences a full range of categories, including shorts, features and documentaries. The prestigious Crystal Bears are awarded for the best films by two young peoples' juries. Furthermore, the Generation International Jury awards the Deutsche Kinderhilfswerk Grand Prix – a cash prize of 7,500 Euros – for the best feature, and the Spezial Prize, valued at 2,500 Euros, for the best short in the Kplus competition.

 

When the Berlinale presented its first "Kinderfilmfest" in 1978, it offered the city's children, aged six and up, 10 films in two theatres, and attracted 12,000 viewers. Today, under the title of Generation, the section attracts more than 50,000 viewers and presents a wider selection of films, to broader audiences than ever imagined at the time.

 

This evolution has resulted in a higher profile for the section, both within the Berlinale and the EFM. "There has always been a connection between this section and the market," says section head, Maryanne Redpath, "but there is still a lot of work to be done. We want to increase awareness of the commercial potential of our films and direct attention to the kinds of films young people desire to see in cinemas. The film market may have a limited notion of this," she goes on, "but I maintain that 'children's film' is not necessarily a genre description. We program a wide variety of genres for the Generation audiences - romantic comedy, horror, art house, adventure, road movie, animation, coming-of-age and fantasy. There is also a huge array of thematic concerns which can touch young audiences, making them go to the cinema – to laugh, cry, to be thrilled, to think and react in a myriad of ways, just as with adults."

Moreover, the introduction of Generation 14plus in 2004 made it possible to expand both the target age groups and the scope of the programming. Films addressing various issues and themes pertaining to adolescents could be selected and screened for the older Generation audiences - films that, due to the festival's 18-plus age limit, would exclude important audiences if screened in other festival sections.

 

"While other festival initiatives are there to invest in the future of the filmmakers, Generation aims to invest in the audience, exposing young people to a high level of quality, developing a sense of taste, and widening the circle for the future," states co-director Florian Weghorn. "And this benefits both sides of the equation. We see an increasing interest from distributors and producers. Buyers and sellers come to the Berlinale to see how a film works with an audience. Perhaps Generation is one of the best sections in which to prove a film's appeal. No other audience gives such a direct response."

 

"At Generation the filmmakers can discover an audience they might not have considered before," Redpath concludes. "Many films in the section were not originally conceived for a younger audience. It's often a mind-altering experience with a steep learning curve, not only for the filmmakers!"

 

Last year’s award winners include titles such as  Neukölln Unlimited by directors Agostino Imondi and Dietmar Ratsch,  Shui Yuet Sun Tau by Alex Law, and  Boy by Taika Waititi. .

 

To read a complete interview with section curators Maryanne Redpath and Florian Weghorn, click  here.

 

To view the entire lineup from 2010, click  here.

 

Read other Spotlights here