Heleen Rouw at Young Film Fest: How to get kids into the cinema and create an unforgettable festival

Heleen Rouw, Director of Cinekid, the largest film and media festival for children and youth in the world, visited the International Forum for Audiovisual Education, which took place in September as part of this year's Young Film Fest in Prague's Kino Kavalírka. The Forum welcomed dozens of leading audiovisual education experts from all over Europe and offered a unique space for sharing experiences.

After the forum, a live recording of the Pitch podcast was held, with Heleen Rouw as a guest. In the interview, she focused on the specifics of working with children's audiences, presented the challenges of running the world's largest children's festival, and shared her views on what a quality festival should offer for young audiences, or what should be avoided.

Heleen Rouw has a wealth of experience in the film industry. Prior to her time at Cinekid, she worked with leading distributors and studios in the Netherlands, where she worked on campaigns for cult projects such as Mr. Bean and Harry Potter. In the interview, she also revealed how to make a film an event and how to attract young audiences back to cinemas nowadays.

Produced in collaboration with the Audiovisual Centre of Kino Kavalírka.

You can listen to the full interview in English HERE.