AWARDS / CHILDREN'S TV: 2009 Cinekid Awards

The 2009 Cinekid Awards 2009 have just been announced. In an auditorium filled to the brim, Isolde Hallensleben announced the winners of the Cinekid Lion Awards (film), the Cinekid Kinderkast Awards (television) and the Cinekid New Media Awards.

Film
The Z@PP Cinekid Lion Audience Award (EUR 15.000) went to Christian Ditter's film The Crocodiles (Germany). The same film also secured the MovieSquad Cinekid Award (EUR 2.000), the prize awarded by the children's jury of the Dutch Institute for Film Education. This year's Cinekid Lion Jury Award (EUR 15.000) was won by the Korean film A Brand New Life from Ounie Lecomte (France, South Korea). The jury called the film, about growing up in an orphanage and waiting for adoption, a notable debut of exceptional quality for both adults and children. A Special Mention was awarded to Skellig from Annabel Jankel (VS, England), and to the actor Ali Shadman for his extraordinary performance in A Time to Love from Ebrahim Forouzesh (Iran). In the film Shadman plays a spastic boy who is hidden from the outside world by his family. During a discussion that followed one of the film's screenings, there was considerable commotion when it turned out that the actor is in real life absolutely healthy and normal.

New Media
Amongst the Cinekid New Media Awards, the audience cast the most votes for SpangaS (a cross-medial production) from the NCRV and Shop Around, which received two more votes than Raymann Raving Rabbids TV Party (Wii) from Ubisoft. This last production was also popular with the jury, but the Cinekid New Media Jury Award (EUR 7.500) was awarded to Children for Children Karaoke (website) from the VARA and Lost Boys.

Television
There were surprises when it came to the Cinekid Kinderkast awards. The Audience Award for Non-Fiction went to the Kids & Docs documentary Laura & Anne 4 ever from Susan Koenen (RKK/KRO). In the category Fiction, the children's Audience Award went to Puppy Patrol from Annemarie Mooren (Nickelodeon). The Jury Award for Fiction went to Tales from Zoutvloed from Iván López Núnez, Ineke Houtman and Ties Schenk (VPRO), and in Non-Fiction to Letters from Nicaragua from Stef Biemans (VPRO). During the award ceremony the programme's maker received the good news in Nicaragua via Skype.

Bypassing the official nominations, the Kinderkast jury awarded the Golden Cinekid Kinderkast Award (EUR 7.500) to the programme Applecore, episode 'What to do if you fall through the ice' from Uif Putters, Leo de Groot and Kees Prins (NPS). In awarding the prize, the jury noted that the deciding factor was not so much creative renewal, but rather the value of a programme that for so many years, happily, has been responsible for such a high level of quality.

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