An important part of the annual Cinekid Festival is the award ceremony for the best films, television productions and new media aimed at children. Several international juries select the winners of the so-called Cinekid Lions. The visitors of the festival fulfill an important role as well: they cast their votes for the audience awards.
Best Children’s Film
Of the hundreds of feature film entries that Cinekid receives each year from across the world, fifteen are selected for the Best Children’s Film Competition. A jury of five international professionals with a background in film or children’s media deliberate over the Best Children’s Film Jury Award, presented with a Cinekid Lion statuette. At every screening, children in the audience vote for their favourite film in competition. The winner receives the Cinekid Lion for the Best Children’s Film Audience Award.
Best Dutch Children's Film
For the Best Dutch Children's Film Competition, Cinekid selects Dutch feature films completed since the previous year’s festival. These are films aimed at children under 14, or suitable for the entire family. The winner of the Best Dutch Family Film Jury Award will receive a Cinekid Lion statuette. Children visiting the festival award their own Cinekid Lion Audience statuette to the highest-rated film in competition.
Best International Short Film
The Cinekid Best International Short programme helps acquaint Dutch children with stories from as many countries as possible, as well as with alternative ways of storytelling. All new short animated films for children and youth produced in the last year are eligible for this competition. Around 50 short films are presented in themed programmes or as preludes before a feature film screening. An international jury of children’s film experts and professionals decides which production are awarded Cinekid Lion Jury Awards in three categories (Animation, Documentary, Live-Action).
Best Dutch Short Film
The Best Dutch Short Film Competition consists of a selection of the best youth films that have been completed since the previous festival. All titles are reviewed by a jury of professionals and are eligible for the Cinekid Lion Jury Award, which is divided into three categories: Best Dutch Animated Short, Best Dutch Live Action Short and Best Dutch Documentary Short. Winners receive the coveted Cinekid Lion statuette.
This competition also awards two audience prizes. Cinekid compiles programme for two age categories, which are watched by hundreds of primary school pupils. Schools all over The Netherlands take part in the competition and the school children vote for their favourite film. The highest voted productions of the two programmes receive the Cinekid Lion National Audience Award.
Best Youth Film
A jury of young film lovers (ages 12 to 14) watches a selection of the Cinekid Festival programme and decides on the best international film for children between age 10-14.
Best Dutch Series
Every year, Cinekid presents the Best Dutch Series Competition, a selection of the most breathtaking Dutch series for children. All series are reviewed by a jury consisting of professionals from the youth media industry and can be considered for two awards: Best Dutch Fiction Series and Best Dutch Non-Fiction Series. Winners receive the coveted Cinekid Lion statuettes.
Game & App Award
The best of international games and apps can be discovered in the MediaLab during Cinekid. A committee consisting of four professionals in Digital Culture compose a selection, from which a youth jury consisting of four members of Cinekid's Junior Crew will determine which title will win a Cinekid Lion.
Eurimages Co-production Development Award
The Eurimages Co-production Development Award is awarded to the best eligible film project in the Junior Co-production Market. Eligible projects must be aimed at cinema release, and must be designed as a European co-production between at least two European member states, and for reasons other than purely financial. The award is provided by the European cinema support fund Eurimages both to promote European youth film and to stimulate European co-production.
Filmmore Post-Production Award
Since 2019, we hand out the Filmmore Post-Production Award, which is awarded to the best live-action project in the Junior Co-production Market. This prize is designed to stimulate collaboration with the Dutch Visual Effects & Post Production lab Filmmore. Granting the award is an invitation to start a longer and fruitful collaboration with the company.
