Zlín Industry Days 2025 starts: respected filmmakers from all over the world will participate

The Friday programme of Zlín Industry Days will traditionally open with the FILMTALENT Pitching Forum, which gives space to emerging filmmakers, students and young producers to present their projects in front of an expert jury. The best of them have the chance to receive financial support from the FILMTALENT ZLÍN Foundation. The afternoon will offer a practical masterclass by Katarina Tomková, a prominent Slovak producer behind award-winning films such as Photophobia and 107 Mothers. Her lecture will focus on how to properly present a film project. At the end of Friday's programme, he will open the very topical topic of parenting in the audiovisual field. A panel discussion complemented by the results of a fresh survey will offer an open space for sharing the experiences of parents working in the creative professions.

The second day of the Zlín Industry Days professional programme will bring a wide range of topics - from supporting regional production to technological innovations to international experience in filmmaking for children and youth. These will be brought to Zlín by Dennis Ruh, a film industry expert from Germany. His masterclass will focus on the entire life cycle of a film - from development to financing to success at international festivals.

He will be followed by Dominic James, a Canadian screenwriter and producer, who will present the approach of his company Les Productions La Fête, which focuses on strong characters and stories with a family overlay. This will be followed by Christian Lo, a Norwegian director of children's films, who will share his own journey to film for young audiences and explain why he considers this work to be the most important.

The day will conclude with one of the highlights of the programme: British film critic and curator Michael Leader will offer a deep dive into the filmography of the legendary Studio Ghibli. In a lecture entitled Forever Young: Childhood and Adolescence in Studio Ghibli Films, he will focus on the iconic works of Japanese master Hayao Miyazaki, such as My Neighbour Totoro, Princess Mononoke and Journey into Fantasy. The program will commemorate the 40th anniversary of the studio's founding and offer a reflection on how Ghibli films sensitively capture a world of childhood, courage and doubt.

Sunday's programme of Zlín Industry Days 2025 will culminate in the  10th annual Cinema Behind the School conference, this time in the spirit of combining film education and the gaming world. Under the title Let's Play: Gaming in Education, experts will focus on how digital games can be used as a natural and respected part of the school environment.

The afternoon programme will also feature an exceptional interview with a Japanese film industry icon - Mr Yoshishige Shimatani, CEO of Toho, the company behind famous brands such as Godzilla and the films of Akira Kurosawa. In a discussion with Gert Hermans, he will reveal the background of Japanese film tradition, distribution and global strategies.

The last day of the professional programme will conclude with an open meeting of the Festival Community: News of the World, followed by the Honoring the Greats gala event. This will commemorate the lifetime contribution of two key figures in children's film: Jo-Anne Blouin from Canada, founder of FIFEM, and Felix Vanginderhuysen from Belgium, founder of the European organisation ECFA. Both will be honoured during the meeting for their outstanding careers and long-term influence on the shape of the children's film and festival environment.

The full programme for Zlín Industry Days 2025, including timings and registration information, can be found at www.zlinfest.cz. Selected parts of the professional programme are also open to the general public upon prior registration.