The ceremonial award presentation on Saturday evening was just another highlight of the International Film Festival for Children and Young Audience SCHLINGEL. For a week, ten juries have been spoilt for choice in the appointment of their personal favorites. 103 productions from 36 countries were screened. In total prices worth overall about 30.000 Euro were awarded.

-    S     Children’s Film Competition

The 18-person European Children’s Jury from nine European states (e.g. Denmark, France, Sweden or Hungary) awards the European Children’s Film Award (5.000 Euro) endowed by the Ministry for Science and Fine Arts of the Free State of Saxony to:

„Alfie the Little Werwolf”
Netherlands / 2011
Direction: Joram Lürsen

Explanation: The first price is awarded to a film that is funny, diversified and extremely exciting from the very first minute to the last. It is a story about how important it is to have a real family and that they accept you the way you are no matter how you look. It really touched us because of the emotional acting and it is a movie for every age group and the whole family.

Special mention: „Kiwi Flyer“ (Tony Simpson, New Zealand 2012)


The best child actor who gets a “DIAMOND” – a bike from the Diamant-Fahrradwerke in Hartmannsdorf, Saxony is:

Jelte Blommaert („Come On, Eddy!“)
Belgium, Luxembourg, Netherlands / 2012
Direction: Gert Embrechts

Explanation: The best child actor is a boy who impressed us with so much feeling and his performance as an actor. We appraise how he dealt with his incontinence in the film and we emphasized a lot with the figure.


The Professional Jury Feature Film (Dr. Mathias Günther from the Department for Private Broadcast and New Media of the Saxonian Free State, anchorwoman Griseldis Wenner as well as Britta Wilkening-Barnsteiner, co-owner of barnsteiner-film) awards the Chemnitz Top Award (5.000 Euro) for the best children’s film to:

„Come on, Eddy!“
Belgium, Luxembourg, Netherlands / 2012
Direction: Gert Embrechts

Explanation: Freddy has a hard furrow to plough because there is “a wire missing between his head and his bottom.” He cannot keep his defecation, he is challenged and an outsider. But Freddy is not giving up, he fights and he wants to be a famous cyclist, just like the Belgian Eddy Merckx. The whole story is realistic, sensitive, not without conflicts but still with a lot of hope. This is great entertainment because it is human and humorous.

Special mention 1: „Buta“ (Ilgar Najaf, Azerbaijan 2011)
Special mention 2: „Alfie, the Little Werwolf“ (Joram Lürsen, Netherlands 2011)

-    M     Junior Film Competition

The Professional Jury Feature Film awards the first prize of the Department of Private Broadcast and New Media of the Saxonian Free State (4.000 Euro) for the best Junior Film:

„Starry Starry Night“
Taiwan, China, Hong Kong / 2011
Direction: Tom Shu-Yu Lin

Explanation: We chose a movie that deals with a topic that is familiar to children and the youths all over the world. In „Starry Starry Night“, the parents of the 13-years-old Mei tell their daughter that they will not live together as a family any more. Additionally, her grandfather dies – the one with whom she always could talk, who comforted her and who showed her the most beautiful spangled sky. She is sad and angry – but then she meets Jay, the new boy in her class. They become friends. The most impressive for the jury was the way the film dealt with grief and loss, friendship and love and how the emotions are created with fanciful and tender images. It is a quiet film full of strong emotions, supported by young, talented actors.

Special mention 1: „Lucky“ (Avie Luthra, South Africa 2011)
Special mention 2: „Gypsi“ (Martin Šulík, Slovak Republic, Czech Republic)


The Junior Jury awards the Junior Film Award (1.000 Euro) to the best Junior Film:

„Starry Starry Night”
Taiwan, China, Hong Kong / 2011
Direction: Tom Shu-Yu Lin

Explanation: We chose this film because of its emotional and realistic story really touched us. All those little details, like the melting of the snowflakes and the animation sequences, made the film something special.

-    L     Youth Film Competition

The Youth Jury awards the CineStar Youth Film Award (1.000 Euro) of the Greater Union Filmpalast GmbH:

„Furious“
Netherlands / 2011
Direction: Dave Schram

Explanation: The winning film deals with violence and sexual harassment, with true friendship und the first love. It shows the audience, how to overcome problems. Particularly impressive was the eagerness of the young doing the free running.

Special mention: „The Secret“ (Morten Køhlert, Denmark 2011)

-    D     Focus Germany

The DEFA Foundation Award of the jury of the DEFA Foundation Berlin (4.000 Euro) goes to:

„Fortress“
Germany / 2011
Direction: Kirsi Marie Liimatainen

Explanation: The taboo subject domestic abuse is dealt with sensitively and firmly by the director Liimatainen. She describes the powerlessness of the children against their parents very multifarious. Main character is the girl Johanna, whose father beats the daylights out of her and her mother. She has to show courage and loyalty in order to find herself, even if the consequences are bad. It is the outstanding acting of all the young actors and actresses that helps creating this courageous and important movie.


For the first time in the history of the festival the Goethe-Institut awards a feature film in this category with the Youth and Children’s Film Award of the Goethe-Institut. It goes to:

„The Foster Boy“
Germany, Switzerland / 2011
Direction: Markus Imboden

Explanation: The jury especially appreciates the idyllic beauty of the countryside. The film forces the audience to look behind the façade, to recognize the great poverty and social nuisances in the country. The topic of the movie is a current one, in many countries there still exist human rights violations like for instance child labour and abuse. The jury is convinced that the film is ready for a broad international audience because it is able to sensitize and encourage reflection. It is an appeal for civil courage and against the looking away.

-    XS     Short- and Animation Film Competition

The Professional Jury Short and Animated Film awards the National Short and Animation Film Award (500 Euro, in Cooperation with the Saxon Film Federation):

„Mr. Nightmare and the Blessings of Progress“
Germany / 2011
Direction: Schwarwel

Explanation: Mr. Nightmare is so busy that he has no possibilities to meet his secret love interest Insomnia. But he is a visionary and so he does everything to have a little more time for his girlfriend. It is a bizarre world that the director Schwarwel creates and the Professional Jury is glad to call this bizarre panorama a national film.


The Professional Jury Short and Animated Film awards the International Short and Animation Film Award (500 Euro, in Cooperation with the Saxon Film Federation):

„Temporary“
Lithuania / 2011

Explanation: Two girls are alone at home in a lithuanian city. Their parents went to London to look for work. How long will this “temporary” state continue? The movie is shot in a subtle way, the director shows impressively how children have to grow up too sudden. There is not so much going on in the movie – but it still has so many to say.

-    Other awards:

The jury of the European Children’s Film Association awards the ECFA Award:

„The Secret“
Denmark / 2011
Direction: Morten Køhlert

Explanation: The winner is an extremely touching movie, with only few settings but with a profound and humorous story about the grief of a young family.


The Lichtenauer Audience Award of the Lichtenauer Mineralquellen GmbH, awarded by the audience during the festival, goes to:

„Kiwi Flyer“
New Zealand / 2012
Direction: Tony Simpson


The students of the Matthes-Enderlein-Gymnasium in Zwönitz, Saxony awards the Fair Play Award for extraordinary social commitment to youth problems:

„Someone Like Him“
Germany / 2011
Direction: Anja Jacobs

Gojko Mitic is honoured with the Honory Award „Ehrenschlingel“ for his commitment in German Children’s and Youth Films. In 1966, a certain Gojko Mitic first appeared as Tokei-ihto, the young, muscular chief’s son, on cinema screens in East Germany. The following statement addressed to his tribesmen in the film “The Sons of Great Bear”: to “henceforth breed tame buffaloes, to forge iron, and to make ploughs”, could have served as the credo of any peace movement. After all, the GDR considered him as their outstanding “film indian”, the second in Germany besides “Winnetou” alias Pierre Briece in the West. Originally from Serbia, Gojko Mitic had been involved in some Karl May movies before the DEFA and the GDR television formed him to become a hugely popular actor in the 20 years of its remaining existence. The impact the more than two dozen DEFA films on red Indians exerted especially on children can be seen in an enjoyable way in Rolf Losansky’s “The Long Ride to School” from 1981, where Gojko Mitic plays himself as a peaceful “chief indian”. More recently, he was allowed to follow Pierre Briece’s “footsteps” – at least in the open-air theatre of Bad Segeberg, powerful and “without safety net” as always.

About 12.000 visitors as well as nearly 200 guests from all over the world could be welcomed during the festival week in Chemnitz. Directors, actors and producers, from Azerbaijan, Canada, New Zealand, Russia and Hungary met here and exchanged about their work and opinions. Also, the director of the festival Michael Harbauer, can look back on a successful festival week: “The festival has been characterized by its artistic diversity. The competition entries, coming from all over the world, delighted the young audience as well as the professionals from film and television.

Additionally, I am very glad about the international movies, mostly being German or even World premiers, attracted interest of the German distributors. The winning movies have the great chance to be dubbed in near future. This is important for being screened on the cinema screen or in German television. Therewith the festival SCHLINGEL figures prominently in this field.