Cinekid Director Resigns

Heleen Rouw is exiting her post as director of the Cinekid Foundation after five years in the role.

Rouw will start as program director of Creative Industries Immersive Impact Coalition (CIIIC) on January 1. Among her accomplishments at Cinekid are the joint development with IFFR, IDFA and NFF of an online platform to offer audiences a festival experience at home during the pandemic, as well as the development of Cinekid’s inflatable cinema that has been traveling around the Netherlands since this year.

The supervisory board has appointed Nicolien Luttels as interim director and will start the process of recruiting the new director in early 2025.

Rouw commented: “The past five years at Cinekid have been great. I have learned a lot from the talented makers of youth films, series, games and installations, especially from the young audience. Curious, sincere and direct, it is great to see how they inspire the makers while developing their projects, both in our talent development labs but also in the MediaLab. It was an honor to work with a passionate team to help children enjoy the power of visual stories in which they are taken seriously. Cinekid has a bright future ahead of it, thanks in part to the award of multi-year subsidies from the BIS and Amsterdam’s Arts Plan. Especially now, it is essential that there is continued space and visibility for all possible forms of youth film. I will now take the next step, but I will always carry this mission in my heart.”

Eveline Aendekerk, chairperson for the supervisory board of Cinekid, said: “The supervisory board thanks Heleen for her contribution and passionate commitment over the past five years. Under her leadership, Cinekid twice secured its long-term funding, Cinekid has grown into an even more vibrant platform where children and young people can discover and develop their creativity, and Cinekid has firmly positioned itself as an important player within European children’s and youth film.”