In this year’s Kristiansand International Children’s Film Festival, 11 titles were presented in the ECFA Award competition. Dutch film FIGHT GIRL by Johan Timmers came out on top.
FIGHT GIRL portrays the introverted teenager named Bo. While her parents are caught up in a divorce, Bo moves with her mother to an Amsterdam suburb. A friend next door introduces her to a kickboxing club and Bo turns out to be a natural talent. But first she must learn to control herself, because kickboxers should only fight when in the ring. The film already collected multiple awards, including this year’s EFA Young Audience Award.
The jury described FIGHT GIRL as “an impressive story about a young girl taking faith into her own hands. Bo is strong, tough and protective, taking care of her older brother when he gets bullied. She makes her own decisions, takes responsibility and is fighting for justice, while her problems and fears are getting transformed into an anger and aggression that this tiny girl can barely control. We feel her anger, we understand her feelings, we go with her through her ups and downs. We appreciated the film’s authentic settings and outstanding main actress Aiko Beemsterboer.”
The ECFA Jury were (from left to right) Alexandre Dupont-Geisselmann (Germany), Johanna Thelander (Sweden) and Ingrid Stensen (Norway).