More than 550 Nordic and international delegates are expected on October 3^rd at BUSTER’s annual pan-Nordic children’s media conference, held parallel to BUSTER, Denmark’s largest film festival for children & youth (September 25-October 8.)

The one-day industry conference is organised for the 5^th time by BUSTER with the festival’s Nordic counterparts BUFF in Malmö, Kristiansand in Norway; Oulu in Finland, and RIFF (Reykjavík International Film Festival) in Iceland, all part of NoJSe, the Nordic Junior Sessions Network.

“This year’s conference will be focusing on co-creation, in the broadest sense,” explains BUSTER head of programme Mariella Harpelunde Jensen who will deliver the opening speech. “This means co-creation within the industry across the Nordic region and Europe, or co-creation together with children and young audiences.”

“As usual, the conference will be a mix of entertaining sessions, data analysis, research, hands-on cases covering film, television, streaming and gaming for kids and youth,” continues the head of the festival.

Industry talks will focus on AI, global natives, selling Nordic content with Ireland’s Monster! Entertainment, EU lobbying for kids and youth content, dubbing - or not - of kids content in small languages from streamers, seen from an Icelandic viewpoint with Bío Paradís’ Hrönn Sveinsdóttir.

Among films and series to be highlighted are Denmark’s Tiny Toot (Toolbox), Pretty Young Thing (SF Studios), Mr Freeman (Zentropa), and Dreambuilders (First Lady Film).

For Harpelunde Jensen, the conference will also be an opportunity for Nordic kids and youth festivals to re-evaluate their own presence and programming in the digital age.

“Many festivals targeting the younger audience are too traditional and not in tune with changes in the marketplace,” says the head of BUSTER who cites not only home viewing on multiple screens as a direct threat to the big screen experience, but also online kid’s content available on film institutes’ websites for educational purposes, now impacting the presence of schools at children and youth film festivals.

“We have to re-invent ourselves”, says Harpelunde Jensen who has introduced live event for kids & youth - including dance, music, gaming in the cinemas - to make BUSTER a must-go experience. A new ‘BUSTER in Nature’ screening space in Amager, Copenhagen will also be open to kindergarten kids for them to experience films in a natural green environment.

To extend the Nordic industry brainstorming around kids & youth content and best-practices, BUSTER organisers have added a day to its Industry session with the first ever NoJSe Think Tank to be held October 2 in Copenhagen.

Industry manager Amila Čirkinagić says “the goal is to strengthen the industry by expanding on issues discussed at NoJSe regular meetings. The think Tank will reunite film professionals and researches who will explore the power of co-creation - how it can foster creativity, inclusivity-cross-cultural dialogue, and what defines Nordic identity.”

Key findings from the think tank will be summarised in a report to be delivered in February 2024.

On the festival side, BUSTER will be screening more than 170 films and series from around the world.

On October 4, three prizes will be handed out to the best BUSTER film, the best Nordic feature length film and best Nordic short film for kids and youth.

Three Nordic films are competing both for best Nordic film and the BUSTER top prize: Norway’s Dancing Queen by Aurora Gossé, Sweden’s Bullets by Peter Pontikis and Denmark’s Mr Freeman by Mads Matthiesen.

For further details about BUSTER, check: www.buster.dk