Fettle Animation's BAFTA-nominated documentary series, ‘Children of the Holocaust,’ is the first-ever winner of the Special Jury Prize at The Japan Prize 2015 in Tokyo.
YORKSHIRE, UK -- Fettle Animation's BAFTA nominated documentary series Children of the Holocaust is the first ever winner of the Special Jury Prize at The Japan Prize 2015, in Tokyo.
The new award was introduced to mark the 50th anniversary of The Japan Prize, an international competition that recognizes excellence in educational television. Judges described the six animated tales of elderly Holocaust survivors told for a young audience as “outstanding”.
Fettle’s critically acclaimed series, commissioned by BBC Learning and created with members of the charity the Holocaust Survivors Friendship Association, won the national Sandford St Martin’s Children’s award in June and two regional Royal Television Society Awards in July.
Zane Whittingham, founder and animation director at Yorkshire-based Fettle, and named a Royal Television Society Yorkshire “One to Watch”, commented, “It is such an honor to receive this accolade, and to win an inaugural award from a highly regarded, established international competition, is very special to us and the survivors who told their stories in our films. ‘Children of the Holocaust’ seems to resonate with global audiences, having been screened at 10 film and animation festivals around the world this year. We feel privileged that a piece of work that started in Yorkshire has allowed us to share platforms with acclaimed film makers from around the world.”
Following Fettle’s success in Tokyo, the company has two music videos shortlisted in the Klik Animation Festival, Amsterdam, from October 27 – November 1.
Heavy Ball’s cover of Bronski Beat’s “Small Town Boy” was released in April this year. “Another Planet” for The Captain of the Lost Waves will be released in the UK on October 31.
Children of the Holocaust has previously been nominated for a Children’s BAFTA, a British Universities Film and Video Council Learning Onscreen Award and was shown at the Annecy International Animation Festival in France in June.
The series has been broadcast in Australia, Austria, China, France, Canada, South Korea, Italy and Sweden. It can be watched online in the UK currently and Fettle is working with SND Films to secure screenings in other countries around the world.
The Japan Prize was established in 1965 by NHK, Japan’s public broadcaster. Its aim is to improve the quality of educational programs around the world and contribute to the development and fostering of international understanding. In 2008 it evolved into an international contest for educational media for all kinds of audio visual materials to respond to rapid changes in the new media landscape.
Fettle was supported on the project by a number of government-backed initiatives, including graduate trainees funded through Creative Skillset. Thanks to help from the British Film Institute (BFI) and Inland Revenue (HMRC), the series of films qualified for an animation tax break and the company is working with UKTI on exporting its work.
Source: Fettle Animation
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.
