French/Belgium co-production ‘A Town Called Panic: Return to School,’ directed by Vincent Patar and Stéphane Aubier, was awarded the Grand Prize for a short film, and also took home the Audience Award for ages 12-17.
NEW YORK -- Following four weekends of screenings of international films for ages 3-18, the New York International Children’s Film Festival concluded its 19th edition at its annual Closing Night Celebration Sunday night at the SVA Theatre. The celebration included the presentation of the 2016 Festival Awards and a screening of the best short films from this year’s lineup.
Determined by voting from audience members who are age 18 and younger, Grand Prize Awards were presented to one short film and one feature film. A Town Called Panic: Return to School (France/Belgium), directed by Vincent Patar and Stéphane Aubier, was awarded the Grand Prize for a short film. The film, which played in the Festival’s “Short Films Two” program, also took home the Audience Award for ages 12-17.
The Grand Prize Award for a feature film was presented to Birds of Passage (Belgium), directed by Olivier Ringer. After a young duckling mistakes wheelchair-bound Margaux as its mother, she and her best friend, Cathy, set out on a journey to prove themselves worthy of the responsibility. A refreshingly matter-of-fact take on disability and young friendship, the film was recently named Best Children’s Film at the Montreal International Children’s Film Festival.
Winners of the Festival’s two juried prizes were chosen by the Festival’s board of jurors: John Canemaker, Sofia Coppola, Geena Davis, Lynne McVeigh, Matthew Modine, Julianne Moore, Richard Peña, Bill Plympton, Dana Points, Susan Sarandon, James Schamus, Christine Vachon, Gus Van Sant, Taika Waititi, and Jeffrey Wright.
For the first time in the Festival’s history, the Jury Awards resulted in a tie in both the Best Live Action and Best Animated Short categories. The Jury Award for Best Animated Short was presented to Under Your Fingers by Marie-Christine Courtès from the Festival’s “Short Films Three” program and My Grandfather Was a Cherry Tree by Olga & Tatiana Poliektova, which screened as a part of the Festival’s “Shorts for Tots” program.
The Jury Award for Best Live Action Short was presented to In the Sea Where I Was Born (Italy), which made its North American premiere in the Festival’s “Girls’ POV” short film program. The second Jury Award for Best Live Action Short was presented to I Am Yu’pik (USA), which screened as part of the Festival’s “Short Films Three” program for audiences ages 12 to adult.
Audience awards, presented to short films, were determined by the votes of audience members of four different age ranges. A complete list of recipients follows:
- Audience Award, ages 3-5: Octopus (Germany), Animation, Julia Ocker; US Premiere, “Shorts for Tots”
- Audience Award, ages 6-11: The Visitors (Australia), Animation, Philip Watts, “Shorts for Tots”
- Audience Award, ages 12-17: A Town Called Panic: Return To School (France/Belgium), Animation, Vincent Patar & Stéphane Aubier; World Premiere, “Short Films Two”
- Grown-Ups Award (audience members ages 18+): One, Two, Tree (France), Animation, Yulia Aronova: East Coast Premiere, “Shorts for Tots”
New York International Children’s Film Festival ran from February 26 through March 20, 2016. The Festival’s 19th year comprised 15 feature films -- including a special preview screening of Mark Osborne’s The Little Prince -- more than 25 visiting international filmmakers, the 2016 Oscar-nominated film World of Tomorrow (Don Hertzfeldt, Best Animated Short), and over 25,000 attendees.
Source: New York International Children’s Film Festival
Formerly Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network, Jennifer Wolfe has worked in the Media & Entertainment industry as a writer and PR professional since 2003.
