In 2020 ECFA celebrates the 3rd anniversary of the ECFA Doc Award, that raises awareness about European documentary film productions made for a young audience.
At the recent doxs! Festival in Duisburg, Germany (4 – 10 November), the ECFA Doc Award was handed out to the film CHAMP by Dutch director Cassandra Offenberg. The award ceremony marked the 3rd anniversary of an award that promotes the production of European young audience documentaries, and guarantees the film a place on the shortlist for the overall ECFA Doc Award 2020, that will be handed out on 22 February 2020 at the European Children’s Film Community Award Ceremony during the Berlinale Festival.
ECFA is a membership organisation for professionals and organisations operating within the field of quality films for children and youth. For over 30 years ECFA has worked to improve children’s access to the best possible film culture and to increase an awareness about the need for good media policies across Europe. One of the means used to achieve that goal are the ECFA Awards for Best Feature, Best Short and Best Documentary Film for Young Audiences. Throughout the year, children’s film festivals around the world are hosting ECFA Award juries to add titles to ECFA’s shortlist. Special festival juries in Duisburg (Germany), Brussels (Belgium), Pyrgos (Greece) and Zlin (Czech Republic) have been assigned for the shortlisting of documentaries. All shortlisted films compete for the final ECFA Awards, voted by the members of ECFA, all of them active in the children’s film industry. ECFA President Margret Albers: “By organizing our awards, ECFA wants to shine a spotlight on the variety and richness of European quality children’s film production, and the critical open-mindedness of our young audience.”
3 years of young audience documentary campaigning resulted in as much excellent ECFA Doc Award laureates. The award was launched for the first time in the doxs! festival in 2017. Ever since, awards for Best European Young Audience Documentary went to DANCING FOR YOU (Erlend E. Mo, Norway), THE SHELTER (Robin Jensen, Norway) and LENNO & THE ANGELFISH (Raphaëla Shamira, The Netherlands).
Candidates for the title of Best European Young Audience Documentary of the Year in 2020 are:
– HOW BIG IS THE GALAXY (Ksenia Elyan – Russia, selected at the Zlin Film Festival)
– ANBESSA (Mo Scarpelli – Italy & US, selected at the Olympia Festival)
– CHAMP (Cassandra Offenberg – The Netherlands, selected at Filem’on and doxs!).
Other titles added to the shortlist are LISTEN (Astrid Bussink, the Netherlands – awarded at the JEF festival in Antwerp) and JE N’AIME PLUS LA MER (Idriss Gabel, Belgium – awarded at the Ciné-Jeune de L’Aisne Festival in France).
Ever since the ECFA Doc Award was launched, the dissemination of documentaries among European children’s film festivals has improved drastically. Festivals like Filem’on (Brussels), Zlin Film Festival (Zlin) and Olympia Festival (Pyrgos) have launched new competitive sections for documentaries, extra attention was given in the ECFA Journal through interviews and a quarterly column, the Flemish Audio-Visual Fund (VAF) launched a call for the production of five youth documentaries and seminars have been organised in various festivals.
We’re counting on you to forward this message to specialized associations, producers or journalists in your own network and country. ECFA is truly grateful for your help to spread the reputation of the ECFA Doc initiative.
For more information, please contact:
Gert Hermans, ECFA Content & Communication: journal@ecfaweb.org
Felix Vanginderhuysen, ECFA Secretary-General: mail@ecfaweb.org
Margret Albers, ECFA President: margret@ecfaweb.org
Notes to Editors:
The ECFA AWARD procedure:
Throughout the year, various children’s film festivals around the world are hosting an ECFA Award jury, selecting one title to ECFA’s shortlist. Most of the juries select feature films, but special festival juries in Duisburg, Brussels, Pyrgos and Zlin have been assigned for the shortlisting of documentaries. All shortlisted films compete for the final ECFA Awards, voted by the members of ECFA, all of them active in the children’s film industry. The final awards are presented at the European Children’s Film Community Award Ceremony during the Berlinale.
Complete list of festival participating in the ECFA Awards:
JEF Festival (Antwerp, Bruges, Belgium), BUFF Children & Youth Film Festival (Malmö, Sweden), Kristiansand Children’s Film Festival (Norway), Ciné Jeune de l’Aisne Festival (L’Aisne region, France), Film Festival for Children & Youth (Zlin, Czech Republic), Children’s & Youth Film Festival (Oulu, Finland), Just Film Children & Youth Film Festival (Tallinn, Estonia), Cinema in Sneakers Festival (Warsaw, Poland), Schlingel Film Festival for Children & Young Audience (Chemnitz, Germany), Lucas Festival for Young Filmlovers (Frankfurt, Germany), Ale Kino! Young Audience Film Festival (Poznan, Poland), Olympia Children’s Film Festival (Pyrgos, Greece), Filem’on Children’s Film Festival (Brussels, Belgium), doxs! – Documentaries for Children & Young People (Duisburg, Germany), Smile Film Festival (New Delhi, India), Kino Dzieci Kids Film Festival (Warsaw, Poland), Short Film Festival (Oberhausen, Germany) and Biennial of Animation (Bratislava, Slovakia).
ECFA is an association with approx. 130 members in 40 European and non-European countries.
ECFA – European Children’s Film Association
Place de l’Amitié 6, 1160 Brussels
Belgium
Phone: +32-475-55-02-97