Over the weekend, four weekends of international film programming for kids and teens which made up the 20th anniversary edition of the New York International Children’s Film Festival culminated with the presentation of the 2017 Festival Awards and a best-of-the-fest short film screening on March 18 at NYC’s SVA Theatre.
This year’s Grand Prize Awards, determined by votes from audience members age 18 and younger, went to the UK live-action feature Swallows and Amazons by Philippa Lowthorpe (adapted from the novels by Arthur Ransome), and animated short film Heads Together from Netherlands-based creative team Job, Joris and Marieke.
The three juried award winners were selected by NYICFF’s board of jurors: John Canemaker, Sofia Coppola, Geena Davis, Lynne McVeigh, Matthew Modine, Richard Peña, James Schamus, Christine Vachon, Gus Van Sant, Taika Waititi, Jeffrey Wright and Nadine Zylstra, who selected Norwegian entry When I Hear the Birds Sing by Trine Habjorg as Best Animated Short
The audience awards for short films were determined by votes in four age range categories.
See our previous coverage for more on the 2017 NYCIFF program.
2017 NYICFF award winners:
Animated films denoted with ***
GRAND PRIZE WINNERS
Grand Prize Feature: Swallows and Amazons, Philippa Lowthorpe (UK)
Grand Prize Short: Heads Together, Job, Joris & Marieke (Netherlands)***
AUDIENCE AWARD WINNERS
Ages 3-6: Tiger, Kariem Saleh (Germany)***
Ages 5-10: Stone Soup, Clementine Robach (France/Belgium)***
Ages 8-14: Sing, Kristóf Deák (Hungary)
Ages 12-17: Welcome to My Life, Elizabeth Ito (USA)***
Grown-ups Award (Ages 18+): Riceballs, Shingo Usami (Australia)
JURY AWARD WINNERS
Best Animated Short: When I Hear the Birds Sing, Trine Habjorg (Norway)
Best Live-Action Short, Narrative: French, Josza Anjembe (France)
Best Live-Action Short, Documentary: Free Like the Birds, Paola Mendoza (USA)
