“Although the film is set in another country, and one of the characters is a dragon, it is, actually, a story about what is happening here and now,” said the Main Jury of the Polish Kids Kino Festival about the film DRAGON GIRL. The ECFA Jury chose the same film, with a similar justification.
Christmas is just around the corner and everyone is preparing for the holidays – everyone except for eleven year old refugee Sara, who constantly hides from the police and seeks refuge in empty houses. One day, everything changes when she has an incredible encounter: a shy animal crashes into the very same house. Sara can hardly believe her own eyes… It is a dragon! When the aspiring YouTube star Mortimer comes to his neighbour’s house and finds them, Sara and her new friend seem to be in danger…
The ECFA Award in the Kids Kino Festival went to DRAGON GIRL (by Katarina Launing, Norway/the Netherlands). “This film’s extremely humanistic message relates to the problems affecting Europe today. The combination of two worlds: the real world of a small migrant, and the fantasy world of a lost young dragon, makes a message accessible even to young children: the need to care for every creature, no matter where it comes from. The film cleverly and humorously addresses fundamental issues such as freedom and man’s responsibility for every existence, which makes it both an excellent entertainment for the youngest as well as a well digestible lesson on issues important to every human being.”
The ECFA Jury were Pantelis Panteloglou (Olympia Festival, Greece), Jerzy Moszkowicz (AleKino!, Poland) and Barbora Kyas (Juniorfest, Czech Republic).