comKids – PRIX JEUNESSE Iberoamericano 2023 Festival – A meeting for Children’s Media Experts
The comKids – PRIX JEUNESSE Iberoamericano Festival 2023 celebrated Communication for Children and the Children’s Audiovisual Universe in the region, always keeping an eye on the world as a whole. The coming year showed a reality that is in a state of attention. Intolerance, inequality and war are frightening and call us to look for initiatives that foster dialog, solidarity and conflict mediation with children. At the same time, the continuous advance of deforestation, pollution and greenhouse gas emissions continue to severely affect the climate and the different forms of life on the planet. Our initiatives for quality children’s media may seem small in the face of the huge scale of the problems and challenges we face, but they are certainly still very important actions in the context in which we live.
Indigenous childhoods were the theme of the Festival’s opening ceremony, with the screening of the medium-length film “Kwat e Jaí”, inspired by their legends and worldviews. The ceremony was attended by comKids director Beth Carmona, the film’s director Clarice Cardell and the indigenous woman Jawi Kamayurá.
The comKids Festival 2023 focused on some urgent and important topics, such as the environment and the search for sustainability, through the Masterclass “For Us, No Planet B!”, a reflection developed by our special guest, Dr. Maya Goetz, director of the PRIX JEUNESSE Foundation. Children’s casting and the different issues involved in audiovisual production made with, for and by children were also addressed at the festival, including the legal issue. The children’s participation councils, created and carried out in Latin America, also brought important reflections.
The Festival also focused on regional live action productions, with the participation of important global content channels, reminding us that Latin America is working hard to ensure that our children gain more and more space and participation, on and off screen, seeing themselves, recognizing themselves and gaining a voice in global exhibition spaces. These and many other reflections, learnings and lessons were part of our professional update program.
The competition, which went far beyond awarding the winners, received almost 300 entries and brought out the cultural diversity of our countries, showing that we are many voices and identities. In all, 13 Ibero-American countries were represented in the competition in 2023. The richness of diversity was often contrasted by the need for resilience and strength in the face of various obstacles. This was represented in the reality of the struggle for respect or equity, as well as the appreciation of the traits that make up the different singularities of the various people and collectivities in the region.
The content that won the PRIX JEUNESSE INTERNATIONAL Special Award at comKids, Meu nome é Maalum (Brazil, directed by Luísa Copetti, produced by Pé de Moleque Estúdio), is precisely on the theme mentioned above and tells the story of a black Brazilian girl who faces the challenges imposed by the discourses and practices of racism at the school she attends.
At the Awards Ceremony, which was broadcasted live via YouTube, the winners from different Latin American countries, such as Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Mexico shone. The Children and Youth Juries also announced their favorites. The competition catalogue is available on the comKids portal, which you are all invited to browse.
The comKids Festival 2023 continues until mid-September, with showcases of children’s audiovisual content spread across the internet and the city of São Paulo, which has hosted our Festival for several years now. We hope to continue meeting more and more of our colleagues from around the world who we have met at the Prix Jeunesse International events, a world event that inspires us and promotes excellence in children’s television and audiovisual production.
See you in 2024, a warm hug!
Daniel Leite
comKids PJIBA Festival Coordinator
Foto credits: Danila Bustamante