On 12 February, the ECFA Awards 2022 were handed out in three categories during an award ceremony in Berlin, for a limited number of members and friends. CALAMITY (ECFA Award), RAISE THE BAR (ECFA Doc Award) and SHOWER BOYS (ECFA Short Award) took home the prizes.
ECFA’s annual award for Best European Children’s Film went to CALAMITY – A CHILDHOOD OF MARTHA JANE CANNARY by Rémi Chayé (France). A magnificently animated film about a young girl riding the prairies and plains. This wild world shapes her unique personality, and will later help her to become the mythical Calamity Jane. Florencia Di Concilio, composer of the film’s original soundtrack, travelled to Berlin to pick up the trophy.
The ECFA Doc Award for Best European Young Audience Documentary has been won by RAISE THE BAR by Gudjon Ragnarsson (Iceland). Producer Margrét Jónasdóttir (Saga Film) was on the spot to address the audience: “When we were asked about our target audience, we knew this was a film to be seen by parents, teachers, and grown-ups, but first and foremost by young audiences. They will meet a group of girls who learned to straighten their backs and speak up for themselves. With this award, we pay our respects to them.”
The ECFA Short Award for Best European Young Audience Short Film went to SHOWER BOYS (Sweden). Several crew members joined director Christian Zetterberg in Berlin for this festive occasion.
Margret Albers, President of ECFA, looked back upon another successful ECFA Award edition: “What I like so much about this year’s selection is that all films challenged us in so many ways. They challenge the audience to think about the boundaries of friendship and about what it means exactly to be a boy or a girl.”