Children’s Cinema: The Challenge of Programming for the Audience of the Future
Programming cinema for young audiences poses a very particular challenge: it is not simply a matter of selecting suitable but also of understanding children's needs, rhythms and ways of seeing. What does it mean to curate for kids? Which factors shape decision making? Who are the audiences of the future?
This panel discussion will explore a range of perspectives, considering not only content but also context: those who study the changing landscape of the audiovisual world and children’s relationship with screens; the festivals that turn children into programmers and protagonists through participatory experiences; and those who work with specific age groups, designing sessions tailored for toddlers, schoolchildren, families or teenagers.
The aim of this session is to open up a space for reflection on how to programme cinema for children, recognising that they are not a passive audience but viewers at a formative period of their life when they are watching, questioning and building their own relationship with film.
Panellists
Gloria Vilches
Gloria Vilches has coordinated Xcèntric since 2009. In 2022 she launched Cinema 3/99, a regular programme of themed screenings for audiences of all ages (from 3 to 99), featuring animation, video art and auteur cinema. She has worked as a programmer with festivals and art centres including S8 Mostra de Cinema Periférico, Montehermoso, Tabakalera and Punto de Vista. She regularly teaches courses on experimental cinema. She sings with friends and has a seven-year-old daughter.
Jéssica Pestana
Jéssica Pestana holds a degree in Artistic Studies from the University of Coimbra and a master’s in Film Studies, with a thesis focusing on cinema and education. She completed a postgraduate diploma in Contemporary Art Curation at FCSH – Universidade Nova de Lisboa, where she is currently pursuing a master’s in Women’s Studies in Society and Culture. She is a programmer at the Festival Internacional de Cine Infantil y Juvenil IndieJunior and a member of the short film committee at IndieLisboa, where she also coordinates educational projects such as Nextus – learning by docs and Cineclube IndieLisboa.
Ricardo del Conde
Ricardo del Conde is a filmmaker and photographer involved in numerous documentary projects. He studied Sociology at UNAM and International Relations at ITAM, and holds a degree in Art from the Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos, where he received an honourable mention. Trained in Photography with Toni Kuhn, he specialised in Documentary Film Creation through a diploma from IBERDOC, an IBERMEDIA programme, and completed a master’s in Arts (2011). Together with Elena González, he co-directs Gaztefilmfest, a film festival in Vitoria for children and young people.
Moderator
Sesi Bergeret
Sesi Bergeret is a member of the Selection Committee at l’Alternativa. She cofounded and programmed Cadiz.Doc and the Muestra Internacional de Documental Independiente, and directed the mid-length documentary Historia chiquita que cruza un océano, which screened at several festivals and received a special mention at the Festival de Derechos Humanos de Santiago del Estero.