Record attendance at the 13th TAURON Young Horizons IFF
The 13th TAURON Young Horizons International Film Festival has come to an end. This year, the festival had a record number of attendees! The 175 films in the programme, including premiere screenings, along with workshops and activities for families, attracted 74,453 people in total. The event was held in 48 towns and cities, at 59 cinemas across Poland. Some elements of the programme were also available online.
This year’s TAURON Young Horizons IFF brought together 38,907 participants in onsite screenings, including 15,631 in Warsaw, 6,094 in Wrocław, and 17,182 in the other locations. The online festival screenings on the YH VOD platform were viewed by 35,546 people. In total, 74,453 people took part in the festival, which is a record number in the event’s history.
We are really glad about the record attendance at the festival. This is proof that quality, diverse films for young people are still in demand, attracting a growing number of viewers. We are motivated to develop our event even further, searching for more film stories that will inspire the young generations of cinema goers, says Agnieszka Sinicka, Festival Programme Director.
The programme of the 13th TAURON Young Horizons IFF comprised 175 productions for various age groups. Apart from animations, the audience had an opportunity to watch a number of live-action and documentary films, including titles that had been previously presented at the festivals in Cannes, Annecy, and Berlin. Besides the main three competition sections, the programme featured the audience’s forever beloved anime section as well as the Timeless Film Festival Warsaw’s section, American coming-of-age classics, and a review of the Cartoon Saloon studio’s productions. The festival screenings were accompanied by meetings with filmmakers, actors, and experts, as well as debates, creative workshops, and other family activities.
This was also the second year of our cooperation with TAURON Group: the title partner of the festival and the sponsor of the Main Competition and the Audience Award.
The festival is getting closer to people across Poland
The 13th edition of the festival saw important changes in the format of the event. For the first time, in addition to the screenings in Warsaw, Wrocław, and arthouse cinemas in other Polish towns and cities, the festival films were screened at Helios cinemas. As part of the partnership, a selection of seven productions for different age groups was shown by the Helios network during the two festival weekends. In total, the festival took place in 48 towns and cities, at 59 cinemas, which made it accessible to families all over Poland.
Young Horizons for film industry
For 10 years now, the festival has been accompanied by Young Horizons Industry: an international forum supporting the development of films and series for young audiences. The event is a meeting hub for filmmakers, producers, distributors, and other film industry representatives.
As Young Horizons, our goal is not only to present interesting and versatile films from around the globe at our festival but also to support Polish filmmakers. We want Poland to produce more and more quality films and series for young audiences, says Kamila Tomkiel-Skowrońska, Director of Young Horizons. The Young Horizons Industry co-production forum that accompanies the festival is a space where we foster the development of new films and series and facilitate networking between film industry representatives focused on productions addressing young viewers, Kamila emphasises.
Save the date!
The upcoming editions of the two events – the 14th TAURON Young Horizons International Film Festival and the 11th Young Horizons Industry – are planned for autumn 2027. Feel invited!
See you at cinemas!
