Sprockets Awards

Toronto – Sprockets Toronto International Film Festival for Children and Youth is pleased to announce the award winners from the 14th annual festival.  Awards are determined by festival-going audiences, and the Golden Sprocket awards are decided by three Young People’s juries. 

Also announced are the award winners for the Jump Cuts Young Filmmakers Showcase, as decided by a jury of film industry professionals. These awards are part of Sprockets’ continued commitment to engaging children and youth in the critical assessment of films by creating a forum where their voices can be heard.

SPROCKETS AUDIENCE CHOICE AWARDS

Sprockets’ Audience Choice Awards are voted on by festival-goers who attended public screening weekends (April 9-10 and April 16-17).

Audience Choice Award – Best Feature Film

A Cat in Paris, director: Jean-Loup Felicioli & Alain Gagnol, France.

Dino the cat may not have nine lives, but he has at least two. During the day he lives with his young owner Zoé and her mother Jeanne, the Paris Police Commissioner. At night, Dino joins up with Nico, a daring burglar with a surprisingly big heart.

Audience Choice Award – Best Short Film

The Gruffalo, director: Jakob Schuh & Max Lang, UK.

Based on Julia Donaldson’s best-selling children’s book, this Academy Award®-nominated animated short tells the story of a forest mouse who outwits a series of dangerous predators with his made-up tales of a fearsome beast called the Gruffalo. Of course, such a bizarre creature could never exist—or could it?

GOLDEN SPROCKET AWARDS

The Young People’s Jury Awards reflect Sprockets’ continued commitment to the belief that critical assessment of children’s films should be made by children and youth themselves. The two feature-film juries and one short-film jury presented the following awards:

Best Feature Film

Jury 1 (ages 8 to 10)

Snowmen, director: Robert Kirbyson, USA

Ten-year-old Billy Kirkfield is convinced he is going to die after a recent battle with cancer, and while he has come to accept this, he is scared of being forgotten. Billy decides to team up with his friends and do something so big the whole world will remember him: set a world record. Snowmen teach us that it’s not what you do in life but how you do it.

On choosing this film, the jury said, “Snowmen is about having the courage to be a better person in tough situations.” Honourable mention went to Rafiki, Norway.

Jury 2 (ages 11 and 12)

The Crocodiles Strike Back, director: Christian Ditter, Germany.

In this action-packed sequel to the Sprockets 2010 Audience Award winner The Crocodiles, our favourite gang of pint-sized detectives stumbles across a plot involving a local factory threatened with a mysterious closure. Worried that their parents will lose their jobs, the young sleuths must work together to uncover the sinister plan.

The Crocodiles Strike Back is the follow up to the film, The Crocodiles, which also won the Golden Sprocket Jury prize in 2010.  The Young People’s Jury explained their decision, “This is an exciting movie with a touch of romance, comedy and adventure.”

Honourable mentions went to The Secret Letter, The Netherlands and Circus Dreams, USA.

Best Short Film

Jury (ages 9 to 12):

The Gruffalo, director: Jakob Schuh & Max Lang, UK.

Based on Julia Donaldson’s best-selling children’s book, this Academy Award®-nominated animated short tells the story of a forest mouse who outwits a series of dangerous predators with his made-up tales of a fearsome beast called the Gruffalo. Of course, such a bizarre creature could never exist—or could it?

“The Gruffalo has a great message – even if you’re small, you can be big inside,” says the Young People’s Jury members.

Honourable mention went to the Canadian short, Sonar.

Student Choice Award

The Student Choice Award is voted on by high school students, Grades 9-12.

Finding Kind, director: Lauren Parsekian, USA

The pressing issue of girl-against-girl bullying is skilfully addressed in Lauren Parsekian’s vital new documentary. Lauren and Molly Stroud, both victims of bullying by their peers, undertake a trip across the U.S. with their mothers, interviewing hundreds of females young and old who offer profound insights into how bullying can not only damage a young woman’s self-esteem but can also result in depression, eating disorders, drug and alcohol use, or even suicide.

JUMP CUTS YOUNG FILMMAKERS SHOWCASE

Celebrating its 10th year, the Jump Cuts Young Filmmakers Showcase engages Ontario’s young people from Grades 3-12 in filmmaking. Jump Cuts provides emerging directors a forum for artistic expression and the opportunity to see their work screened in TIFF’s new home, TIFF Bell Lightbox. “This year the films in Jump Cuts were varied and diverse, including animation, documentary, fiction and experimental work,” says Natalie Van Dine, Coordinator of Workshops and Community Initiatives. “They represent our next generation of filmmakers.”

There are three Jump Cuts prizes awarded by a jury of film industry professionals. This year’s jury includes Anneli Ekborn, freelance writer and Genie-nominated film producer, TIFF programmer Alex Rogalski, award-winning filmmaker Kris Booth and Canadian actor Mark Rendall, whose work includes Don McKellar’s Childstar and ReGenesis.

The Frederick Simpson Award for Best Film Grade 3 to 6

Feet First, directors: Darren Chappell, Aiden Chisholm, Nick Peixoto, Tyra Skillings and Robert VanRyswyck. This light-hearted, humorous film looks at the mistreatment of feet, and tells the story of Freddy the Foot and his quest for respect.

The Veronica Herman Award for Best Film Grade 7 to 9

Lawrence Heights: Past, Present and Future, directors: Dylan Pelletier, Rolando Cruz, Ronny Nickels, Matthew Johnson.

Statements made by community members on the past, present and future of the Lawrence Heights community of Toronto.

Honourable mention went to Stranded, director: Freddy Fitz.

The Gertrude Löwengren Award for Best Film Grade 10 to 12

An Inconvenient Youth, director: Slater Jewell-Kemker.

After the heartbreaking failure of the UN climate change conference in Copenhagen in 2009, an embittered young environmentalist attends the 2010 conference in Cancún. By interviewing a number of her fellow activists and gauging the direction of the youth environmental movement, Jewell-Kemker is able to put aside her anger and embrace a new call to action.

Honourable mentions went to Symphonies, directors: Jacob Fischer-Schmidt, Dana Liu, Danielle Muir and Ridley Soudack and Sand, director: Tucker McLachlan.

The Frederick Simpson, Veronica Herman and Gertrude Löwengren Awards are generously supported by Garrett Herman. Each Grand-Prize winning film also received a Jump Cuts Bursary courtesy of RBC, to encourage the development of young voices in film.

The Sprockets Toronto International Film Festival for Children and Youth offers audiences an exclusive opportunity to see films from around the world on the big screen. Much more than a day at the movies, Sprockets engages audiences with special guests, post-screening discussions, hands-on activities and more. This year Sprockets expanded its programming from 7 days to 13, with one week dedicated to a High School programming one week of Public School programming and two public weekends.