“The Day I Became a Hero”: PRIX JEUNESSE Suitcase in Israel
Over 80 producers and creators of children’s media, academics, educators and students packed the hall at Goethe institute in Tel Aviv-Yafo, for the PRIX JEUNESSE Suitcase held on 6 January 2020 in Israel.
Organized as a collaboration between Cinema South Film Festival (by School of Audio & Visual Arts at Sapir Academic College), Goethe-Institute and CET (Center for Educational Technology), the rich program was curated and moderated by Dr. Yuval Gozansky.
The day started with a screening of up-to-6 Non-Fiction and Fiction winners of PRIX JEUNESSE 2018: SONGFONI, PYTHAGORASWITCH: THE MARBLE BROTHERS’ GREAT ADVENTURE!, and BO BEAR. The screening was followed by a lively discussion about the ideas, programs and the way the shows portray heroes.
Next, four Israeli senior producers from different channels presented programs they produced locally, that they believe showed children as heroes. Diverse programs were screened, among them documentaries for preschoolers, reality-sportive series, and drama.
After a short break, a second screening of a selection of PRIX JEUNESSE 2018, this time 7-10 Non-Fiction and Fiction: THE HANDBALL MISSION, FIRST DAY and CHECKER TOBI – THE LIFE-AND-DEATH CHECK. Right after, a pitch of new ideas by Israeli creators was held. 13 new ideas, pre-selected from 60 (!) submitted, were presented to the professionals, among them animation, drama and documentaries for all ages. The atmosphere was welcoming and full of enthusiasm.
The early afternoon started by a demonstration from the head of video and media department of the Center for Educational Technology (CET), ), Mr. Gidi Yehoshua, talking about new ways of learning through digital platforms. It was followed by a presentation by CEO of Teenk, Mr. Yaniv Waizman, about the new formats for children created on online platforms.
The final part of the day began with a collaborative discussion about the future of the community of children’s media in Israel and the need to create a lobby/organization for quality in children’s media. The event was closed by a third screening of a selection from 11-15 Non-Fiction and Fiction at PRIX JEUNESSE 2018: MY LIFE: BORN TO VLOG, ZOMBIELARS, JAPANGLE: PUBLIC RESTROOMS, WHAT IT’S LIKE TO EXPERIENCE A DISABILITY, OVERSHADOWED and HEADS TOGETHER.
It was a wonderful day, filled with content and debates between children’s media creators, managers, educators and academics. The feeling was that a community was created, as all agreed: There is a wish for continuance of meetings.