Cinekid Festival (cinekid.nl) recently wrapped it 2024 edition, announcing 10 winners of the Cinekid Lion awards for the best youth films, series and game of 2024 and four Cinekid for Professionals Awards. The winners included several promising animated projects:
The Council of Europe Series Co-production Development Award was presented for the first time this year, awarded to the Swedish animated series Puck, directed by Anna-Karin Garhamn and is produced by Caroline Drab. The new prize worth €50,000 supports independent producers in accessing development funding and fostering creative partnerships across Eurimages member states.
The jury of industry experts for the Council of Europe Series Co-Production Development Award included Alessia Sonaglioni (Program Manager, Council of Europe), Judit Foz Povill (Head of Media Sales, DeAPlaneta) and Laury van Lieshout (Television Editor, KRO-NCRV). The jury described Puck as “a project that would appeal to its target audience by the simplicity of its attaching stories, reflecting real life and human imperfection of characters. The project is also a modern adaptation of traditional storytelling through a human gender-neutral character.”
The Eurimages Co-production Development Award (€20,000 prize) went to CG-animated feature Millie and the Secret of the Crocodile, directed by Esben Toft Jacobsen and produced by Petter Lindblad.
The jury consisted of Elena Kotová (Eurimages representative, Czech Republic), Jeroen Zijlstra (producer/director, 5 A.M. Studios) and Isabel Schneider (Sales & Marketing Manager, Sola Media). The jury stated, “Millie and the Secret of the Crocodile is an embracing, optimistic adventure about friendship, overcoming fears and believing in yourself. Millie and the Secret of the Crocodile is an action-packed humorous story which we believe will reach wide audiences.”
The Best International Short Film Award 9- went to Magic Candies by Japanese director Daisuke Nishio. The jury comprised programmer/critic Niel Putman, programmer Sebastian Kraner and director Emma Branderhorst.
The Junior Crew and game jury professionals presented the Cinekid Lion Game Award and a cash prize worth €2,500 to Florence Bethuys, the creator of the winning game What the Car.
Cinekid Winners 2024
The Council of Europe Series Co-production Development Award
Series: Puck
Directed: Anna-Karin Garhamn
Screenplay: Anna-Karin Garhamn, Caroline Drab
Production: Caroline Drab
Country: Sweden
Eurimages Co-Production Development Award
Film: Millie and the Secret of the Crocodile
Directed by Esben Toft Jacobsen
Screenplay: Esben Toft Jacobsen
Production: Petter Lindblad
Country: Sweden, Denmark
PUBLIKUM Audience Awareness Award
Film: Hunnic Summer
Directed by Nedeljko Kovacic
Screenplay: Kristina Đuković
Production: Maja Cenic
Country: Serbia
Filmmore Post-Production Award
Film: Kittens
Directed by Nova van Dijk
Screenplay: Laura van Dijk
Production: Maarten van der Ven
Country: Netherlands
Best Children’s Film Award
Film: Listen up!
Directed by: Kaveh Tehrani
Screenplay: Erlend Loe, Nora Elisabeth Landsrød, Gulraiz Sharif
Production: Motlys, Ingvil Berger, Yngve Sæther
Country: Norway
Best Dutch Children’s film Award
Film: Liefjes
Directed by Natalie Bruijns, Anneke de Lind van Wijngaarden
Production: Witfilm
Country: Netherlands
CJP Youth Jury Award
Film: Listen Up!
Directed by Kaveh Tehrani
Screenplay: Erlend Loe, Nora Elisabeth Landsrød, Gulraiz Sharif
Production: Motlys, Ingvil Berger, Yngve Sæther
Country: Norway
Amarte Best Dutch Short Film Award 9+
Film: Moustache
Directed by Idriss Nsangou Nabil
Screenplay: Idriss Nabil, Idriss Nsangou Nabil
Production: Max de Wolf, Lion Kojo
Country: The Netherlands
Amarte Best Dutch Short Film Award 9-
Film: Caterpillar
Director: Susanne Hagen
Screenplay: Karen Veldt
Production: Jelle Kleinhesselink, Redmer Keizer
Country: Netherlands
Best International Short Film Award 9+
Film: A Short Film About Kids
Directed by: Ibrahim Handal
Screenplay: Ibrahim Handal
Production: Wisam Al Jafari
Country: Palestine
Best International Short Film Award 9-
Film: Magic Candies
Directed by Daisuke Nishio
Screenplay: Ichiro Takano
Production: a Toei Animation Co, LTD, Dandelion Animation Studio
Country: Japan
Craftsmanship in a Series Production Award
Series: Het Klokhuis about AI
Production: Het Klokhuis
Broadcaster: NTR/ NPO Zapp
Country: Netherlands
Most Original Series Production Award
Series: Van Binnen Stroomt Het
Director: Natalie Bruijns
Final editing: Michiel Brongers
Production: Witfilm/ Iris Lammertsma
Broadcaster: KRO-NCRV
Country: Netherlands
Game Award
Game: What the Car?
Maker: Florence Bethuys
Production: Triband
Country: Denmark
