Press Release from Sprockets Toronto International Film Festival for Children
Toronto – Sprockets Toronto International Film Festival for Children announced today the award winners from the 13th annual festival. Three awards were determined by childrens’ juries (two designated for feature films, one for shorts) and two audience awards were determined by festival-goers. Three additional awards for the Jump Cuts Young Filmmakers Showcase were decided by a jury of film-industry professionals and the Student Choice Award was determined by high-school students attending Sprockets. These awards are part of Sprockets’ continued commitment to engaging children and youth in the critical assessment of films by creating a forum where their voices can be heard.
AUDIENCE CHOICE AWARDS
Sprockets’ two Audience Choice Awards are voted on by all festival-goers who attend the public weekend (April 17-18).
Audience Choice Award – Best Feature Film
The Crocodiles – Christian Ditter (Germany)
New in town, Kai, a boy in a wheelchair, wants to join the coolest groups of kids – The Crocodiles – who aren’t sure if Kai will fit into their lives of adventure. Little do they realize how much Kai will help them learn about life and friendship when the group decides catch the thieves who have been plaguing their town. The Crocodiles is a multi-award-winning film based on a beloved German young-adult novel by Max von der Grün.
Honourable mention went to From Time to Time (United Kingdom).
Audience Choice Award – Best Short Film
The Auction – Gloria U.Y. Kim (Canada)
In the1970s, eight-year-old Meehee Park, the daughter of immigrants from Korea, hopes that getting a Cindy doll for Christmas will help her fit in. Realizing that her parents can’t afford the gift, Meehee discovers that the doll will be available in an upcoming neighbourhood auction and tries to saves her money.
Honourable mention went to Lost and Found (United Kingdom).
GOLDEN SPROCKETS AWARDS
The Young People’s Jury Awards reflect Sprockets’ continued commitment to the belief that critical assessment of children’s films should be made by the children themselves. The two feature-film juries and one short-film jury presented the following awards:
Best Feature Film
Jury 1 (ages 8 to 10)
Carlitos and the Chance of a Lifetime – Jesús del Cerro (Spain)
Carlitos, an eleven-year old orphan, loves soccer and hopes to be selected to play on Spain’s national junior soccer team. However, he must keep his plans a secret from the nasty orphanage director. With the help of his friends, Carlitos sets out to fulfil his dreams.
Honourable mention went to The Race (Ireland/Germany).
Jury 2 (ages 11 and 12)
The Crocodiles – Christian Ditter (Germany)
New in town, Kai, a boy in a wheelchair, wants to join the coolest groups of kids – The Crocodiles – who aren’t sure if Kai will fit into their lives of adventure. Little do they realize how much Kai will help them learn about life and friendship when the group decides catch the thieves who have been plaguing their town. The Crocodiles is a multi-award-winning film based on a beloved German young-adult novel by Max von der Grün.
Honourable mention went to Garuda in My Heart (Indonesia).
Best Short Film
Jury (ages 9 to 12):
Ormie – Rob Silvestri (Canada)
Ormie the Pig will try everything it can think of to get at a jar of cookies that sit just out of reach on top of a fridge.
Honourable mention went to Lost and Found (United Kingdom).
Student Choice Award
The Student Choice Award is voted on by high-school students attending the School Programme.
Glowing Stars – Lisa Siwe (Sweden)
The film is tenderly adapted from the award-winning novel by Johanna Thydell. The film follows fourteen-year-old Jenna as she tries to navigate thorough adolescence while coping with the mother’s terminal cancer. Jenna takes her fear and resentment of her mother's illness out on her grandmother, and tries distracting herself with parties and boys in this poignant and authentic portrait of a young woman growing up in difficult circumstances.
JUMP CUTS YOUNG FILMMAKERS SHOWCASE
The Jump Cuts Young Filmmakers Showcase offers young Ontario filmmakers in Grades 3 through 12 a chance to have their short film shown on the big screen at Sprockets. There are three Jump Cuts awards decided by a jury of film-industry professionals. This year’s jury consisted of filmmaker Dylan Reibling (Record, TIFF’09); Brent Orr, founder of Never Too Short Productions; and Suzanne Wilson, General Manager of the cross-platform production company, The Chocolate Liberation Front and the Program Coordinator and professor for Centennial College's new Children's Entertainment: Writing, Production and Management Post Graduate Program.
The Frederick Simpson Award for Best Film Grade 3 to 6
Once Upon a Time by Dashiell Scully-Ashton.
The Veronica Herman Award for Best Film Grade 7 to 9
Box Boy by Freddy Fitz. An honourable mention went to The White Room by Emily Buday.
The Gertrude Löwengren Award for Best Film Grade 10 to 12
Clean Cut Man by Max Parr and Max Taeuschel. An honourable mention went Planting Season by Slater Jewell-Kemker.
The Frederick Simpson, Veronica Herman and Gertrude Löwengren Awards are generously supported by Garrett Herman.
The 13th annual Sprockets Toronto International Film Festival for Children offers children and youth the opportunity to learn about film and cultural perspectives from around the world through the power of the moving image. With a programme drawn from the best of Canadian and international cinema, Sprockets runs from April 17 to April 23, 2010, with a Public Programme and a School Programme (April 19 to 23) for students in grades 1 to 12, designed with curriculum connections and teacher resources. For more information, visit the official Sprockets website at sprockets.ca.
Sprockets is generously supported by Bell, RBC, Cineplex Entertainment LP, the City of Toronto and the Ontario Arts Council.