The Children's Filmfest celebrated its 20th birthday on Tuesday night with a celebration at the Palais Am Festungsgraben. There were speeches from festival director Moritz de Hadeln and Thomas Krüger, president of the Deutschen Kinderhilfswerkes.
'I raise my hat to the chef,' enthused 12-year-old jury member and trencherman Alexander Maass as he tucked into a generous supper. He told Moving Pictures Berlinale that he has been applying to be on the jury for five years. Given that the minimum age for jury members is 10, this was often a forlorn endeavour. 'But there's never any harm in trying.'
Maass, who goes to school in the Steglitz area, is more interested in being an actor than a film director. He likes cartoon films best of all and his favourite subject is music. (He plays piano and keyboard.) Asked about the films he had seen thus far, he refused to comment. 'I'm not allowed to.' But he did say that he would like to see more movies made for children.
Dr Bernd Fronhoff, managing director of Nickelodeon, the fest's new sponsor, explained why he was so keen to support the Children's Filmfest now that state funding has been withdrawn. 'For us, it seems quite natural to get involved. This is our audience after all.'
He also outlined Nickelodeon's plans for a new, bi-weekly movie magazine for kids. 'Kino News will be broadcast on Wednesdays and Sundays. It is intended as both an information service and a magazine.' Geoffrey Macnab
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