05-06-2019

FNE at Zlin IFF 2019: Tess Takes Top Honours at Zlin

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    My Extraordinary Summer With Tess by Steven Wouterlood My Extraordinary Summer With Tess by Steven Wouterlood

    ZLIN: The Dutch/German coproduction My Extraordinary Summer with Tess by Steven Wouterlood won the Best Children’s film award at the 59th Zlin International Film Festival for Children and Youth, which concluded on 1 June 2019. The award for Best Youth film went to the Canadian film Giant Little Ones directed by Keith Behrman.

    The most successful film of the festival was the German feature Rocca Changes the World by Katja Benrath, which received the Audience Award, the children’s jury award and a special mention.  

    The festival attracted 2,600 accredited guests. Over 100,000 visitors participated in the festival programmes, which included a town square filled with entertainment that stretched into the evenings.

    A major draw for industry professionals was the industry sections, which included a wide range of meetings and presentations, including conferences on education, greening the impact of the film industry, meetings of festivals, a pitching forum for film students and young professionals and a works-in-progress section.

    A special award, The Golden Slipper for exceptional interpretation of songs in Czech films, was given to the iconic Czech singer, actor and artist Karel Gott.

    During the opening ceremony Petr Koliha, the executive director of Czech TV’s children’s channel ČT :D and the former artistic director of the festival, received the Zlin Festival Grand Prix Award for long-term achievements in developing and presenting children and youth cinema.

    This year's festival also introduced a new award in the European Debuts section, the Karel Zeman Award for Special Recognition for Best Visual Concept. It was won by the German film Cleo – If I Could Turn Back Time. 

    Complete list of award winners:

    International Expert Jury for Feature Films:

    Golden Slipper - for Best Feature Film for Children
    My Extraordinary Summer with Tess (Netherlands, Germany)
    Directed by Steven Wouterlood

    Jury Prize for Best Children Performance in a Feature Film for Children
    Finn Little for the role of Mike in Storm Boy (Australia)
    Directed by Shawn Seet

    Golden Slipper - for Best Feature Film for Youth
    Giant Little Ones (Canada)
    Directed by Keith Behrman

    Jury Prize for Best Youth Performance in a Feature Film for Youth
    Blake Cooper for the role of Bobby in Measure of a Man (USA)
    Directed by Jim Loach

    Special recognition:
    Rocca Changes the World (Germany)
    Directed by Katja Benrath

    Joint International Jury of Children and Adults for Animated Films:

    Golden Slipper - for Best Animated Film
    Cloudy (Czech Republic)
    Directed by Filip Diviak, Zuzana Čupová
    Produced by Tomas Bata University

    The Hermína Týrlová Award - Award for Young Artists aged under 35
    Teofrastus (Estonia)
    Directed by Sergei Kibus
    Produced by Nukufilm

    Special recognition
    A Good Heart (Russia)
    Directed by Evgeniya Zhirkova

    International Children’s Jury for Feature Films for Children:

    Main Prize of the Children’s Jury - for Best Feature Film for Children
    Rocca Changes the World (Germany)
    Directed by Katja Benrath

    International Youth Jury for Feature Films for Youth:

    Main Prize of the Youth Jury - for Best Feature film for Youth
    Psychobitch (Norway)
    Directed by Martin Lund

    International Expert Jury for European First Films:

    The Europe Award - for Best European First Film
    The Unpromised Land (Sweden)
    Directed by Victor Lindgren

    Karel Zeman Award - Special Recognition for Best Visual Concept
    Cleo – If I Could Turn Back Time (Germany)
    Directed by Erik Schmitt

    International Expert Jury for Student Films Zlín Dog:

    Main Prize for the TOP Film of Zlín Dog
    Provence (Belgium)
    Directed by Kato De Boeck

    Genre prizes:

    Best Animated Film:
    Muteum (Estonia)
    Directed by Äggie Pak Yee Lee

    Special recognition:
    Inanimate (Great Britain)
    Directed by Lucia Bulgheroni

    Best Documentary Film
    Apart (Czech Republic)
    Directed by Diana Cam Van Nguuyen

    Special recognition:
    Ma'MaQueen (Netherlands)
    Directed by Esmée van Loon

    Best Live-Action Film
    Last Call (Hungary)
    Directed by Hajni Kis

    Special recognition:
    Cherries (Czech Republic, Slovakia)
    Directed by Katarína Gramatová

    Prizes awarded by non-statutory juries

    EFCA – International jury
    ECFA Award – for Best European Documentary Film for Young Audience
    How Big Is the Galaxy? (Russia, Estonia)
    Directed by Ksenia Elyan

    International Ecumenical Jury
    Ecumenical Jury Award
    Psychobitch (Norway)
    Directed by Martin Lund

    Special recognition:
    Rocca Changes the World (Germany)
    Directed by Katja Benrath

    Audience awards:

    Golden Apple – The City of Zlín Audience Award for Best Feature Film
    Rocca Changes the World (Germany)
    Directed by Katja Benrath

    ČT: D Audience Award – for Best Short Animated Film
    Animanimals – Sloth (Germany)
    Directed by Julie Ocker