Why Storytelling Matters

In cooperation with KIDS Regio
during M:brane Forum

15. March 2022, Malmö 

How to tell relevant real live stories for the young audiences

Storytelling for the young audiences is different from storytelling for grown-ups, but it’s just as (if not more) important. With a generation that is deeply aware of the world around them and all the issues that come with a complex society, it is important to tell stories that can help navigate through troubled waters. The narrative power of film making can not only make us see something new, but it can also diversify our understanding of the world around us. Within this 90 Minute session, we want to present best practices that tell real live stories for young audiences from different perspectives and show us why storytelling matters. We will dive into the experience of pitching a project in front of a jury of young experts and decision makers at the m:brane initiative REALYOUNG and how that had a positive impact on the outcome in its storytelling. Furthermore, we will talk about one’s own perspective in telling biographical stories of the past for an audience of today and investigate the filmmaker’s own perspective on his subjects.

The panel includes director Martijn Blekendaal, who in 2019 attended REALYOUNG©, Ilze Burkovska Jacobsen, who has worked with documentaries for children for over a decade and Andre Hörmann who teaches film and works as a director, producer and writer in LA, Munich and Berlin.

Panelists:
Martijn Blekendaal (NL) / Director
Ilze Burkovska Jacobsen (LV) / Director
Andre Hörmann (DE) / Director
Panel Host: Elisabeth Wenk

How to tell compelling stories of sustainability for the young audiences

The issue of climate protection has long been talked about – and is now increasingly making its way |into audiovisual media. From the production side that means respecting the environment, limiting the exploitation of resources, and implementing improved working conditions.

But sustainability in the film industry needs to be tackled from the content perspective as well. By renewing narratives and proposing sustainable and desirable alternatives to current societal models, Green Storytelling is encouraging viewers to adopt a sustainable lifestyle. When it comes to a young audience, there is a growing responsibility to educate young viewers and to meet their expectations about narrative worlds.

Throughout this panel we want to discuss principles of sustainability and how they can be located in the stories and settings of films for the young audiences -without them having to be environmentally or politically oriented per se. In addition to experts who will inform and discuss the topic, best practices projects will be presented and talked about.

Panelists:
Martin Tischner (DE) / Director
Alissa Aubenque (FR) / Producer
Ronny Fritsche (SW) / Producer
Panel Host: Elisabeth Wenk