Rich Danish spotlight at the 2025 m:brane co-financing forum in Malmö

“We do have a full programme,” assures Managing Director Lennart Ström, not least concerning this year’s focus country, being Sweden’s good and close next-door neighbour Denmark, a country with a rich tradition when it comes to children’s films, while not without the occasional challenge along the way.

“It’s going to be really interesting this year, as our focus country will get 100 per cent of the industry conference. We have Danish speakers, Danish projects, and Danish initiatives, some of them fresh from the think tanks and closely focused on various ideas and models when it comes to strengthening and invigorating content for young audiences.”

Co-curated by m:brane’s Creative Director Annette Brejner in collaboration with Prami Larsen, cherished head of the Copenhagen Film Workshop for three decades, the conference will be moderated by renowned DR news anchor Lene Johansen, and will feature strategy concepts, case studies, and panel discussions on an array of topics.

“Very timely, the Danish Film Institute, DFI, is in the midst of presenting a new strategy and a new policy for development and funding of youth content to the Ministry of Culture. We’ll get to hear and see more on this straight from the main operators of this process, Tine Fischer and Kirstine Vinderskov,” confirms Ström.

DFI CEO Fischer and Vinderskov, Commissioning Editor for Children and Youth Content at the DFI, will open the conference, taking place March 11, and share their visions. Other players and profiles crossing the Öresund bridge include representatives from the regional film workshops across Denmark, film school heads, television editors, and creators. Two case studies, looking closely at the acclaimed animated TV Ultra series Birds and the NFTVF supported, award-winning documentary Balomania, are also on the menu.

A thought-provoking programme item is labelled “Goodbye Disney, Hello Denmark”, focusing on the bold decision to depend upon Danish and European (co-)productions for the family slot “Friday TamTam” – and at the same time say “goodbye” to the popular Disney productions, reigning that very slot since 1991.

The Danish presence is also apparent at the two pitching sessions, taking place March 12 and 13. Out of a total of 23 projects in the main pitch session, ten are Danish, there’s an additional four Danish projects in early stages in the RealYoung Development section, m:brane’s special documentary strand, and the ObserverPlus section. In all, 29 projects are brought to Malmö this year.

“Given the country focus, we made a special call for projects from Denmark. Not necessarily promising a spot, but many of the projects that came in, through excellent aid both from the DFI and the regional funds, spoke for themselves,” Ström is pleased to report.

Spanning over feature, series, fiction, documentary, animation and various forms of virtual, extended, interactive and multiplatform explorations, 20 countries are represented, including Armenia, Bulgaria, Israel, and Nepal. All in all, 20 Nordic projects are being presented – in addition to Denmark’s 14; two from Norway, three from Sweden, and one from Iceland.

Several of these projects are also part of m:brane’s special initiatives RealYoung, focusing on the documentary form, and m:brane Learning, dedicated to topics derived from science research. Both these initiatives are brought together under the umbrella moniker The Non-Didactic Universe, in order “to go hand in hand with the aim to reinforce our efforts to lift non-scripted content for young savvy audiences”, as per Creative Director Annette Brejner’s statement. On March 12, the programme will spotlight these initiatives , with project pitchings, a keynote by Helen Langwick, Head of Programming and Engagement at The UK Antarctic Heritage Trust, and a series of panel presentations under the headlines “A New Dawn for Youth Documentaries” and “Diving Into the Unknown and Unseen: Science for the Senses”. Devised and continuously perfected by Brejner together with Christine Reisen of the European Science Film Association, the initiative is a big part of the heart and soul of the m:brane venture, confirms Lennart Ström. The tools can be “real stories and non-scripted content”, as is part of the RealYoung vision, or through XR platforms, a venue given increasing scope.

“We’re really seeking out these multiplatform ‘non-traditional’ possibilities, and this year we present four of them,” says Ström. “It’s a perfect form when it comes to inspiring young people to want to know more – and without the didactic element. Rather, it’s all about opening up your curiosity, and your mind.”

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