BUSTER’s Children’s Media Conference 2024
We are thrilled to invite you to BUSTER's highly anticipated Pan-Nordic Children's Media Conference, taking place on October 1st in central Copenhagen at Bremen Teater.
The theme of the conference will be ‘THE GREAT IP CIRCUS’. The talks and keynotes will be centered around Intellectual Property – the IP – and the increased internationalisation of content for children and young people.
A conference ticket costs 600 DKK (ex moms incl. fee) and 300 DKK (ex moms incl. fee) for students.
Get your ticket(s) here:
Independent national film titles can no longer manage alone amongst the huge offer of media content for children and young people. The path from the screenwriter’s keyboard to big ticket sales in cinemas is changing. One of the new forms is the so-called IP – the aggregate rights to all aspects of your unique content in all its forms: games, books, toys, scripts, films, TV series, music, concerts, events, theatre productions, exhibitions, podcasts, clothes or candy.
At this year’s conference you can meet and learn from children’s media professionals with insights and experience in working with IPs. The programme is made up of short, entertaining sessions that alternate between new research, data and hands-on experiences from directors, producers, distributors and marketing teams.
PROGRAMME OF THE DAY:
09.00: DOORS OPEN – BREAKFAST AND COFFEE
10.00: WELCOME BY MARIELLA HARPELUNDE JENSEN, HEAD OF PROGRAMME, BUSTER FILMFESTIVAL
10.10: WHEN MUMBO JUMBO BECAME HUGE
The collaboration on Jakob Martin Strid’s drawn universe and its characters has had another detour. The Fantastic Bus has won the hearts of both the audience and reviewers with more than 50,000 books sold in Denmark alone. Now A-Film is working on an animated film based on the story When Mumbo Jumbo Became Huge. But how does the collaboration between animation director Karsten Kiilerich, film producer Anders Mastrup, author Jakob Martin Strid and Gyldendal publishing editor Lotte Hjortshøj really work? How do you handle a story that takes place in Russian Siberia, where the climax is connected to nuclear warheads? How are the elements of the story shaped and updated in relation to its audience? Get up close to the process.
10.30: MEDIERÅDET STUDY ON CHILDREN’S GAMING HABITS – FRIEND OR FOE?
The Media Council for Children and Young People, DR and DFI are behind a new study that uncovers the gaming habits of Danish children and young people. Time consumption is the biggest cause of disagreements between children and parents, but can we find a common ground, and a way to embrace the possibilities that gaming brings to children’s content? Lawyer and council Miriam Michaelsen presents the report, demonstrating that anyone interested in content for the young audience must take gaming habits seriously. What should we be worried about, and what should we look to champion to improve the content we can create?
10.50: THE BBC: INSIDE ROBLOX – PUBLIC BROADCASTING VENTURES INTO GAMING
The BBC has entered the world of Roblox. Their recently released Wonder Chase will feature some of the BBC’s biggest shows and most famous faces, including Gary Lineaker of Match of the Day, Louis Theroux, and the most recent incarnation of Doctor Who. What was their motivation for starting up a venture in Roblox? How has the experience been? We will hear from Senior Content Producer for the BBC Mark O’Hanlon, who is working in children’s games and interactive content, and his colleague Harvey Day. Together they represent both the child audience (0-12) and the young audience (13+). Have they been able to attract the difficult to reach audience between these age groups? Hear about their adventure with a new virtual universe, see some famous faces, and learn the details of how public broadcasting, IPs, and creating your own gaming universe fit together.
11.10: COFFEE BREAK
11.30: AUDIENCE, AUDIENCE: SANNE JUNCKER PEDERSEN TALKS ABOUT AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT AT THE DFI
With so much content to choose from, how do we capture the interest of the audience for specific projects? How can we record and share data to better understand what our audience wants? Why is it important? Sanne Juncker Pedersen (Editor of Audience Development, DFI) spearheaded the initiative ´Closer to the Audience´ launched by The Danish Film Institute back in 2020. She has over the last four years worked closely with the Danish film industry and new partners to create innovation and progress within the field of audience research and audience awareness in development stage and pre-production. Discover her innovative methods in audience development, why it’s important, and how to integrate it through the development process.
11.50: WHAT MAKES KIDS LAUGH?
Nordic Qvisten Animation has been very successful in cinemas with their party film The Brothers Gruff Go to Splashworld, which is based on the masterful reinterpretation of the classic fairy tale, the book of which sold 100,000+ books in Norway alone. The book series Fox and Hare is the inspiration for the Dutch film directed by Mascha Halberstad, released in 2024. Both these films cultivate elements that appeal purely to tweens (7-11 years). How have the two film directors worked with the target group and audience in mind in their adaptation of the books? Meet Mascha and William Ashurst for a conversation about working with IPs designed particularly for a specific target group.
12.20: JOHANNA KOLJONEN PRESENTS THE ANNUAL NOJSE REPORT ON THE STATUS OF NORDIC CHILDREN’S FILM FILM INDUSTRY
In October 2023, film professionals from six Nordic countries and regions met in Copenhagen to discuss and share their thoughts, findings and experiences to answer important questions such as: What is the status of film production for children and youth in the Nordics? How do streamers and the crisis in funding influence the children’s film industry? Are the historically praised funding schemes in the Nordics still going strong? Off the back of this session, author of the Göteborg Film Festival’s annual Nostradamus Report, Johanna Koljonen presents her 2024 NoJSe Report on Nurturing Nordic Children’s Film in a Changing Media Landscape.
12.40: LUNCH BREAK
13.30: DAVID BRORSON FICH – INSIGHTS FROM AN IP LORD
Development producer and innovation editor David Brorson Fich from DR DRAMA has his hands deep in content in many forms when DR’s Christmas calendar ‘Tidsrejsen’ from 2014 gets new life. In revitalising a classic Christmas calendar, David works with content in many forms: TV, toys, books, games. How is this traditional calendar format, with an original script by one of Denmark’s most talented screenwriters and directors Poul Berg, transformed into a modern I.P? And why is it important? And how do you organise the process from original standalone content to I.P? There is so much to get stuck into. Come and hear David reveal all his secrets.
13.50: PEPPA PIG AND THE BIG BRAND IP
Trafalgar Releasing are used to creating global fan moments in cinemas for the likes of Beyonce, Taylor Swift and Coldplay. How would they translate these moments of connection between the stars and the audience to the huge children’s brand of Peppa Pig? What was it like to work with all the various partners, from cinemas and local broadcasters to dubbing and retail, while creating a special cinematic experience for the younger audience (and their parents)? Neža Kovačič, who headed the project Peppa’s Cinema Party at Trafalgar, speaks about her experiences in producing a novel cinema event aimed at getting children into the cinema for the first time. We hear what worked, what didn’t work, and why they are looking forward to working on more children’s IPs in the future.
14.10: STINE LIV JOHANSEN TALKS MEDIA, REPRESENTATION AND COMMUNITIES FOR CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES
Stine Liv Johansen is associate professor in children’s media at Aarhus University. Her research focuses on how digital and mobile technologies are used as communicative tools, transgressing social and spatial spheres in the lives of children and youth. Looking at the intersection of media and disability, this eye-opening session will look at representation and participation of children with disabilities, taking cases such as YouTube channel ‘Spor23’ to talk about the power and potential that the new media can have for young people’s communities.
14.30: BRAIN BREAK
14.50: RONJA THE ROBBER’S DAUGHTER – HOW A 50-YEAR-OLD BOOK BECAME THE MOST EXPENSIVE NORDIC TV SERIES PRODUCTION FOR CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE EVER MADE
The rights holders behind the Astrid Lindgren Company know everything about managing and protecting the important Nordic children’s book author. Meet the screenwriter behind the popular NETFLIX series, Hans Rosenfeldt, for a conversation about lifting Lindgren’s Robber universe into a new and international millennium. How do you incorporate criminal bandits, new side plots and the need for increased diversity in one of the great Nordic children’s literature classics – all while preserving the spirit of the work? He’s joined by Head of Content, Film, TV & Music from the Astrid Lindgren Company, and great-grandson of Astrid Lindgren Johan Palmberg for an extended talk.
15.20: JOHANNA KOLJONEN IN CONVERSATION WITH SANNE JUNCKER PEDERSEN
Following the presentation of the NoJSe report and the DFI’s Audience Development Scheme, NoJSe and Nostradamus report author Johanna Koljonen interviews Sanne Juncker Pedersen about the implications for children’s media. How are the Danish Film Institute adapting their audience development practices to engage the young audience? What are they doing to keep up with the times, and how are they meeting the challenges faced by international streaming and content market saturation? Given the findings and future directions of children’s media landscape highlighted in Johanna’s reports, what is the DFI’s strategy going forward? What do we do when youngsters stop watching Nordic films?
15.40: CLOSING REMARKS
16.00-17.00: DRINKS AND MINGLE IN KOLME BAR
18.30: CONFERENCE NETWORKING DINNER (registration required)
TICKETS
Children's Media Conference October 1st
The conference is a unique opportunity to network with like-minded professionals, build meaningful connections, and exchange ideas with leading figures in the children's media industry. You'll gain invaluable knowledge and inspiration to drive the future of children's media forward. A conference ticket costs 600 DKK (ex moms) and 300 DKK (ex moms) for students.
Meet the speakers
Filmmakers, producers and researches will take the stage
Hans Rosenfeldt
Acclaimed novelist and screenwriter Hans Rosenfeldt is the creator of the award-winning Scandinavian TV-series ‘The Bridge’ (2011-2018). Rosenfeldt has adapted Astrid Lindgren’s world-famous story ‘Ronja the Robber’s Daughter’ into a major family fantasy series, which premiered on Netflix in 2024 to rave reviews.
Johan Palmberg
Johan Palmberg is Astrid Lindgren’s great grandson and has been working with the rights associated to her works for the last ten years. He focuses mainly on rights in the areas of film, television and music. He is also a member of the jury of the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, which is the largest international prize for children’s literature in the world.
Lotte Hjortshøj
Lotte came to Gyldendal as Publishing Manager in 2019 from a position as Editor-in-Chief at Dansklærerforeningens Forlag. Before Dansklærerforeningens Forlag, she had more than 20 years of industry experience, including as department manager and editor at the educational publishing house Alinea under Egmont.
Karsten Kiilerich
In 1988 Karsten Kiilerich founded A. Film with four other partners. He has a background as an animator, and for the past 30 years has been working as a director, concept developer and creative producer, making feature films and TV series. Karsten has won a large number of international film prizes, and was Oscar nominated in 1999 with his animated short ‘When Life Departs’.
Stine Liv Johansen
Children's media researcher and associate professor, PhD. at Aarhus University. For almost 20 years, she has dealt with the importance of the media in the lives of children and young people. In her latest research, she examines the relationships between the media and children and young people with disabilities from various angles.
Neža Kovačič
Neža joined Trafalgar Releasing in 2019. She has worked on bringing a variety of high-profile projects to the big screen: Taylor Swift’s ‘The Eras Tour’; Beyoncé’s ‘Renaissance’; and ‘ABBA: The Movie Fan Event’. In the past year, she has shifted her focus towards child programming, successfully leading projects such as ‘Peppa’s Cinema Party’ and the ‘Transformers 40th Anniversary Event’.
Johanna Koljonen
Johanna Koljonen is a media industry analyst, broadcaster, and experience designer. She is the author of the Göteborg Film Festival’s annual Nostradamus Report on the near future of the screen industries, and recently wrote the 2024 NoJSe Report Nurturing Nordic Children’s Film in a Changing Media Landscape. She lectures internationally on changes in the media sector.
Miriam Michaelsen
Miriam Michaelsen is Chair of the Media Council for Children and Young People. Miriam works as a lawyer at NJORD Law Firm, where she is head of the interdisciplinary judicial team that deals with counselling on cybersecurity, digital harassment and violence.
Mark O’Hanlon
Mark O'Hanlon is a Senior Content Producer for Children's and Education at the BBC. Mark is responsible for the planning and strategy of all BBC Children's and Education games content across BBC owned platforms across web and apps, as well as 3rd party platforms such as Roblox.
Harvey Day
Harvey Day is a Content Editor for Youth Audiences at the BBC. He leads teams that produce a range of digital content for BBC News online, for the BBC’s social media accounts and for innovative, interactive platforms such as BBC Wonder Chase on Roblox.
Sanne Juncker Pedersen
Sanne Juncker Pedersen is Editor of Audience Development at the DFI. She spearheaded the initiative ´Closer to the Audience´ launched by The Danish Film Institute in 2020. She has over the last 4 years worked closely with the Danish film industry and new partners to create innovation and progress within the field of audience research and audience awareness in development stage and pre-production.
David Brorson Fich
David Brorson Fich is a development producer spearheading innovation at DR Drama. Throughout his two-decade career at some of Denmark’s largest media organisations, David has played a major role in shaping and driving the success of acclaimed TV series such as ‘Salsa’, ‘Doggystyle’, and ‘Tidsrejsen’. His work at DR Drama also includes critical evaluations and in-depth analysis, ensuring the strategic direction of key productions.
William Ashurst
Will is a BAFTA-nominated and award-winning Animation Director with over two decades of experience in the animation industry. His wide portfolio spans films, TV series, and adverts. He directed the acclaimed ‘Cattle Hill’ films and played a pivotal role in the successful relaunch of ‘Elias: Rescue Team Adventures’. His latest film, ‘Bukkene Bruse på Badeland’, has become a significant hit in Norway.
Mascha Halberstad
Mascha Halberstad (1973) is a Dutch filmmaker and illustrator. Her first feature ‘Oink’ (2022), opened the Berlinale Generation program in 2022 and was selected in festivals around the world. Oink won 3 Golden Calves during the Netherlands Film Festival. ‘Fox and Hare Save the Forest’ premiered in the Generation programme of the Berlinale 2024. Currently she is in pre-production on her third feature ‘Sjap and King’.