Since 15 February, Berlin has once again been dominated by the Berlin International Film Festival. As the team of the SCHLiNGEL International Film Festival for Children and Young Audiences, we are on site to view films for our own upcoming festival edition and to exchange ideas with the film industry. Since 2016, under the leadership of our festival director Michael Harbauer, we have been organising one of the world's largest annual professional events for the European and international children's film scene at the Representation of the Free State of Saxony in Berlin on the fringes of the Berlinale.

The event included both the annual general meeting of the European Children's Film Association (ECFA) and the presentation of the ECFA Awards. The awards were presented in three categories: best feature film, best documentary film and best short film aimed at an audience up to the age of 14. The films eligible for voting must be of European origin and qualify by participating and being honoured at one of the 24 participating member film festivals - including SCHLiNGEL, of course, but also a film festival from the Indian capital New Delhi. The awards were presented for the 13th time.

The "Meeting of the European Children's Film Scene" took place in cooperation and with the support of the State Representation of the Free State of Saxony in Berlin and in collaboration with the Brussels-based ECFA, the Bundesverband Jugend und Film (Federal Association of Youth and Film) from Frankfurt, the Förderverein Deutscher Kinderfilm and the company Studio.TV.Film.

Conrad Clemens, State Secretary and Commissioner of the Free State of Saxony to the Federal Government, commented in advance on the significance of the event: "I am delighted to welcome SCHLiNGEL from Chemnitz, which is one of the largest German festivals for children's and youth film with over 170 entries from 54 countries and 20,000 viewers, and the ECFA at our state representation once again this year. Children's and youth films are not only particularly successful in cinemas here in Germany, they are also export hits for German film and a guarantee for future generations of film lovers."