New Young Audience Programmer: Dascha Petuchow Joins the Nordic Film Days Lübeck Team

Lübeck, June 18, 2026. The Nordic Film Days Lübeck are pleased to welcome Dascha Petuchow as the new programmer for the Young Audience section. She takes over the post from Hanna Reifgerst, who became artistic director of the festival on January 1, 2026.

Petuchow brings curatorial skills to the NFL that include a deep understanding of both young audience viewpoints and the structure of the film industry. With many years working with young audience juries and film development projects, she has direct access to youthful target groups, as well as bringing to the job a wide-ranging network in the German film and festival milieu.

In her new post, Petuchow takes on the curation of the Young Audience section, and its further development. The section spotlights the world of young people, presenting current Nordic and Baltic films for children, young adults, and anyone who is interested in coming-of-age stories. The section represents a hub for active participation in the festival, with discussions, juries, and educational events such as special screenings for school classes.

Dascha Petuchow says, “This is an exciting next step for me. I am looking forward to my new task, not least of all because the young viewpoint in and about cinema is particularly dear to my heart. The Nordic Film Days bring young people together with Lübeck’s established culture of cinema and the international film industry, creating a unique space for interaction and discussion.”

Petuchow studied communications design at the RheinMain University of Applied Sciences and Arts and has written and directed her own projects. In addition, she belongs to a collective production company. Beginning in 2018, she worked with the FBW independent German film ratings organisation, overseeing the national, participative project FBW youth film jury, which, starting this year, is under the aegis of the BJF German Federation of Film Clubs for Children and Young People.

“In Dascha we have a colleague taking over the Young Audience section who has helped shape young film culture for many years”, says Hanna Reifgerst, the artistic director of the Nordic Film Days Lübeck, “Her experience in building a bridge between young audiences and the cinema as a cultural hub is an enormous asset for the section’s future.”