Imagine 40 creative minds from a total of 12 different countries in one room. A colorful mix of filmmakers, media educators, film festival organizers, cinema operators and other specialists from the film industry. Workshops and talks will take place. Everyone brings their own individual experiences and ideas on the topic of film. Everyone is chatting. Everyone is united by one topic: young talent in film. Sounds exciting, doesn’t it? And it is.

As part of the Youth Cinema Network Conference (YCNC), these people from all corners of the world come together at the FiSH. The YCN connects 26 youth film festivals, 18 organizations and several freelancers from 5 continents in a common film network. The conference takes place at a different location every year. Last year, the network moved to Zurich, this year to the beautiful Baltic coast of Rostock and in 2025 to another country.

After everyone had more or less recovered from their journey on Wednesday, Thursday started at 9 a.m. with a cozy welcome at li.wu, where everyone was able to greet each other over a cup of tea or coffee and a few snacks. Many have known each other through the network for a while, while some are joining for the first time.

Two open panels then took place in the morning. First, some of the YCN members gave impulses and insights into their work in film education. At “More than just a film – How to empower with film work”, there was then an exchange on how film can be used as an opportunity for more social participation, inclusion and empowerment for young people. After a refreshing lunch at the Scholle, everyone watched the first block of the “Junger Film” competition together with live translation before continuing with the panel “More than just a festival – How to empower with festival work”. This was all about how young people can be empowered and supported through and in film festivals. The day ended with a dinner at which the YCN festivals were able to introduce themselves and connect with young filmmakers.

On Friday, we will continue with a joint excursion to Warnemünde before the last panel on the topic of AI in film takes place in the afternoon. On Saturday, our guests will have the opportunity to take in the last day of the festival before hopefully returning home with lots of new ideas and food for thought.

credits photo: Christos Petropoulo, FiSH Festival
credits video: Antonio Britvar