Tonje Hardersen

Dear Organisers,
Participants and Guests of the 25th International Young Audience Film Festival Ale Kino!

It is an honour for me to congratulate this splendid festival with an impressive 25th jubilee. Films give us of knowledge about life and the world. Films touch our emotions and stimulate our fantasy. Seeing films from all over the world helps us to get a better understanding of the situation in different countries, broadens our perspective and lets us discover that perhaps there is a great deal of similarities in our differences.

A festival for children and youth is a fantastic way to let a young audience (and grown-ups too) discover the many great films being made around the world. It is important to show the diversity that exists in our film culture. And it is important for a professional film industry to have meeting places like Ale Kino! To be able to maintain diversity in film culture we need to work together, and make sure that both European films and world cinema meet an audience besides their domestic market. And what is a better place to start than a young audience film festival? I would like once again to congratulate the festival and wish you the best of luck with the next 25 years.

Tonje Hardersen
President of the European Children’s Film Association (ECFA)