Search

    Congratulations!
    ANIMAL by Cyril Dion won the Young Audience Award (YAA) 2022

    ANIMAL by Cyril Dion (France) has won this year’s Young Audience Award 2022! The winner has been revealed during the online award ceremony on Sunday evening in Erfurt (Germany), hosted by youth council members Maria from Portugal and Emmerson from the UK. The show was streamed live on the YAA website. The Award honours European films for an audience between 12 and 14 years and has been an official category of the European Film Awards since 2012. The winner has been chosen by young juries from 42 European countries watching the three nominated films online as well as in over 60 movie theatres in more than 70 European cities organized by 77 partners. With all together over 3000 participating young people, this event is as European and forward-looking as it gets, bringing the diversity and beauty of European cinema to young people.

    Please find more details about the winner film here.

    Sunday’s ceremony marked the festive highlight of a week dedicated to European film culture for young people. From Monday, 7 November hundreds of young film lovers have been watching the nominated films across Europe. On the weekend more than 50 European cinemas entered the ring and organized screenings, Q&As with film makers and workshops. At the same time, the ceremony kicked-off of the newly introduced Month of European Film, initiated and coordinated by the European Film Academy. The grand finale of the four week long celebration of European cinema will be the European Film Awards on 10 December in Reykjavik.

    By actively involving young viewers to take responsibility, act as a jury, and vote for their favourite film, the YAA offers them the opportunity to discover European high-quality films. The Award is a unique opportunity to build bridges between cultures and raise awareness of important social issues. It empowers young film enthusiasts to be catalysts for positive change and supports a greater understanding of their European neighbours. Last but not least, it provides the experience of being an active member of the European community in a democratic voting process.
    The YAA is also part of the “European Film Club”, a film platform and network across the continent for young people to come together to watch and discuss European films and make their own.

    The nominations were chosen in a two-step procedure: For the first time an international committee consisting of five film experts – Joana Domingues (Academy Board, producer/Portugal), Andrey Hadjivasilev (producer, director/Bulgaria), Faridah Nabaggala (ECFA representative, festival director, author/Norway), Stavros Pamballis (artistic director/Cyprus), Claudia Schmid (festival director/Switzerland) – and a group of four representative young people – Hena, Madara, Maria Beatriz and Myrto – pre-selected eight films. Then, a jury of five 13 to 14-year-old former YAA participants – Aifric (Ireland), Natalija (Montenegro), Tin (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Christina (Greenland) and Riana (Kosovo) chose the three final nominees.

    The Young Audience Award is organised and presented by the European Film Academy and the European Film Academy Productions with the support of Mitteldeutsche Medienförderung (MDM) and Creative Europe Media. The local YAA events are organised with the support of the respective national partners. Please find the full list of partners here.

    If you have any questions do not hesitate to contact us.