6 May 2024: Announcement of the Nominees for the PRIX JEUNESSE INTERNATIONAL 2024 Special Prizes
From 24 to 29 May, the world of children’s television will come together for PRIX JEUNESSE INTERNATIONAL at the Bavarian Broadcasting Corporation in Munich. At the world’s largest and oldest festival for children’s and youth television programmes, six main prizes as well as several special prizes will be awarded to outstanding children’s and youth programmes from all over the world. The nominated programmes for the special prizes have now been announced.
This year’s PRIX JEUNESSE INTERNATIONAL is again awarding several special prizes for outstanding children’s and youth TV programmes. The expert juries for the UNICEF and UNESCO Special Prizes, as well as for the Gender Equity Prize and the Theme Prize “For Us, No Planet B! Kids TV and Sustainability” have now announced the three nominated programme per prize. The announcement of the winners will take place at the PRIX JEUNESSE Award Ceremony on the evening of 29 May in Munich’s “Altes Rathaus”.
The following programmes were nominated by the special prize juries (listed in alphabetical order).
Nominees for the PRIX JEUNESSE INTERNATIONAL 2024 UNESCO Prize
JIGSAW: THE TOUCH BOOK READER
Be Amazing Edutainment co. Ltd., Thailand
Although 12-year-old boy Duke Phubet Boonprasong has been blind since birth, he can “see” by touching images. At a school for the blind, Duke works hard to improve his academic, listening, writing and Braille reading skills. Reading Braille becomes his passion and gives him great enjoyment and experience – and even leads to a friendship with Palm, who is also blind. The library becomes their regular meeting place to read books together. Like Duke, Palm dreams of becoming a novelist when he grows up. Both are happy when they can share stories with each other and discuss the books they have read. Their loving families support them in their endeavours and help them to gain self-confidence and become independent.
KWAT AND JAí – THE BABY HEROES OF XINGU
Bebe Lume Produções Audiovisuais Ltda, Brazil
Kwat and Jaí, the twins Sun and Moon, go on a journey in search of their mother who was swallowed by an anaconda. The heroic impulse of the characters and the constant presence of the mother with her lullabies lead the two babies on a series of adventures to the haven of their community. The script is a free adaptation that walks viewers through the cosmogony of the Kamayurá people, based on stories told by Pajé Mapulu. The power of mythology is present in the magical objects of the Kuluta flute and the Urubu Rei’s stool and in the meeting with the ancestors at Kwarup. All these elements are illustrated by 2D animations mixed with live-action images captured and interpreted by the Hiulaya community of Xingu Reservation. A journey that will take children to a particular and ancestral universe being lulled by indigenous lullabies.
THE SMEDS AND THE SMOOS
Magic Light Pictures, United Kingdom
On a faraway planet, Janet and Bill meet in the Wurpular Wood and fall in love. Their families, the Smeds and the Smoos, cannot accept the match after generations of division. But when the two run away to elope, the warring families have no choice but to overcome their differences and work together to find the young Smoo, and the young Smed. Overcoming prejudice is the heart of the film and is a formative message for our family audience. Joyful and affirming, the film explores what it means to recognise and celebrate each other’s differences, how to see the world from someone else’s point of view and ultimately change perceptions. Its message tenderly shows our audience that with an open heart and mind, unity can be achieved.
Nominees for the PRIX JEUNESSE INTERNATIONAL 2024 UNICEF Prize
CLUTTER IN THE COURTYARD
KRO-NCRV, Netherlands
When Romy goes to sleep over with Asha, she gets a strange feeling in her stomach. Anando thinks she is suffering from homesickness, and Romy has a good solution for this problem. In Clutter in the Courtyard, we follow the adventures of the six-year-olds Hiba, Abel, Jessie and Matteo, whose disarming and refreshing outlook on the world kindle insights big and small for all involved. And their motto that always rings true is: together is always better! Each episode has a new lead character, the child is always central. Topics like homesickness and grief are taken seriously and made manageable for children. Inclusivity is a major priority in the programme, regarding class, culture, race, and ability.
DREAM IT TO BE IT
TVOkids, Canada
Dream It To Be It is kid-led, authentic, and full of fun! Together with host Tai, Kids of all abilities explore their potential, find their joy, try new things, and learn that their dreams and passions are possible. They learn to explore their dreams, take the lead in playful, interactive challenges and scenarios, ask all the questions they want to real experts, and most importantly learn to believe in their ability: If you DREAM IT, you can BE IT! Dream It To Be It was inspired by Holland Bloorview’s “Dear Everybody” campaign that works toward ending stigma and eliminating bias against people with disabilities. It is not a show about disabilities, but a show that makes sure that everyone is included.
DAYS OF THUNDER
Centro de Capacitación Cinematográfica – Film Training Center – CCC, Mexico
This short film has accompanied programs and civil organizations that work for the right to water and sanitation and the management of menstrual hygiene in public and private schools in Cuba, Mexico City and indigenous communities. If focusses on 14-year-old Luna, who wants to use her menstrual cup at school. But she has to learn how difficult it is to use it, since there is no clean water in sinks and toilets. Therefore, she decides to organize with her classmates to protest and to capture rainwater.
Nominees for the PRIX JEUNESSE INTERNATIONAL 2024 Theme Prize „For Us, No Planet B! Kids TV and Sustainability”
HET KLOKHUIS – FOOTPRINT – FOOD
NTR, Netherlands
Het Klokhuis – Footprint – Food is a series about the ecological footprint. In order to live, everyone needs a piece of the Earth: arable land for vegetables, cotton for clothes, trees for wood. The piece of land that one person needs each year is called your ecological footprint. The Dutch person’s footprint is pretty big, almost five hectares! Het Klokhuis investigates why that is, and wonders if it would be possible to diminish our footprint. Presenter Janouk also looks at the footprint of food, since a lot of land is needed to produce it – especially meat.
JANE
Apple TV+, United States
Jane is a show on an environmental mission. Inspired and produced alongside iconoclast Dr. Jane Goodall and her institute, the live action/CG blended series follows 9-year-old Jane Garcia, a budding environmentalist embarking on fantastical imaginative missions to help endangered animals. Her action-packed adventures inevitably spill into the real world: The episode Apis Mellifera moves between the insides of a beehive to a schoolyard as Jane tries to understand why bee colonies are collapsing while convincing her bullying classmate to understand the importance of bees. At the end the episode, Jane has a video chat with a real-life activist working to save the bees and is given tangible steps that she and the audience can take to help save the planet and the animals we share it with.
SAVE OUR WILDLIFE
Sky Kids, United Kingdom
Eight-year-old conservationist Aneeshwar is demanding action to save our planet. Not just for humans, but also for the wildlife that lives alongside us. In this children’s documentary, Aneeshwar and five friends from around the world focus on the threats facing six iconic species from climate change. From walruses to tigers, green sea turtles to Monarch butterflies, bees to elephants – this programme reports from five different continents to discover why these animals are in decline and what can be done to try and save them. The programme used local kids in each location and deployed local crews where possible to minimise its own carbon footprint.
Nominees for the PRIX JEUNESSE INTERNATIONAL 2024 Gender Prize
DANCING JULI
ZDF, Germany
15-year-old Juli loves dancing. She is confident and doesn’t care if someone gossips about her being heavier than others. Paul from the upper grades, for example, regularly tries to provoke her. When, out of the blue, Paul’s brother Micky (16) approaches her, Juli is sceptical. He is a well-known rapper at school and wants her as a dancer for a new video?! Is this a joke? Micky can’t dance and explains that he wants to stage a love rap for his “crush.” Developing a choreography intrigues Juli, and she agrees. The two rehearse in an old swimming pool, and it soon becomes clear that they really like each other. But can Juli really trust Micky? He reacts strangely to his brother’s gossip. And when Micky blatantly mocks her weight at school, she is incredibly disappointed. Juli confronts Micky – but what comes next is something she never expected.
DAYS OF THUNDER
Centro de Capacitación Cinematográfica – Film Training Center – CCC, Mexico
This short film has accompanied programs and civil organizations that work for the right to water and sanitation and the management of menstrual hygiene in public and private schools in Cuba, Mexico City and indigenous communities. If focusses on 14-year-old Luna, who wants to use her menstrual cup at school. But she has to learn how difficult it is to use it, since there is no clean water in sinks and toilets. Therefore, she decides to organize with her classmates to protest and to capture rainwater.
KIZAZI MOTO GENERATION FIRE: ENKAI
The Walt Disney Company, United Kingdom and South Africa
“Kizazi Moto” derives from the Swahili phrase “kizazi cha moto” which translates as “generation of fire”, capturing the passion, innovation, and excitement a new cohort of African filmmakers is ready to bring to the world. “Moto” also means fire in several other African languages, from Rwanda’s Kinyarwanda to Shona, a Zimbabwean language, speaking to the pan-African nature of the anthology. In the episode Enkai, young Enkai just wants to spend time with her single mother, Shiro, a cosmic deity who works all the time in the stressful and demanding job of saving the Earth from man-made destruction. With Shiro’s health fading, Enkai must uncover the secrets of creation, and use her own divine powers to bring an entirely new future into being.
Personal registration for PRIX JEUNESSE INTERNATIONAL is still possible until May 6, 2024 at https://prixjeunesse.de/prix-jeunesse-international-2024/personal-registration/.
There is no registration fee. Further information on the competition and photos are available at www.prixjeunesse.de.
Contact: Kirsten Schneid, festival coordinator
kirsten.schneid@prixjeunesse.de / Tel: +49-89-5900-42058