Awards for the Best Films at the 42nd Ale Kino! International Young Audience Film Festival

Here is the news we’ve been waiting for! Over the course of a week, eight juries watched the competition films and selected the winners. Check out which festival films made it to the podium.

Presenting the winning films along with the Jury’s verdicts:

🟢 Golden Goats for the best full-length film for children: „Greetings from Mars”
Director: Sarah Winkenstette (Germany, 2024)

Jury’s justification:
Greetings from Mars is an intimate story told with excellent use of film language to express the point of view of the main character, who perceives the world differently than others. From the very first scene, the audience is immersed in the world of the protagonist, who is excellently played by the young actor Theo Kretschmer. It is a comprehensive and engaging introduction to neurodiversity with the use of excellent animations and soundtrack. A well-built story shows a natural and believable portrait of family that is far from a sugar-coated image and with which the viewers may relate to.

A funny, lighthearted, and engaging story about empathy, facing the most intimate fears, and overcoming struggles lets the viewers connect to the character, who remains true to himself until the very end thanks to the people around him. Greetings from Mars is an engaging and entertaining film that touches on current issues in a remarkable way. 

🟢 Golden Goats for the best full-length film for young people: „Major Tones”
Director: Ingrid Pokropek (Argentina, Spain, 2023)

Jury’s justification:
This debut film took us on an imaginative and emotional journey. It approached a common theme of grief in the most surprising way and simultaneously stayed true to the complex realities of growing up. The director is playing with the elements of magic realism very well and finds meaning in many poetic moments while avoiding giving easy answers. Like an enigma puzzle, this film reveals its beauty in the mystery.

Honorable Mention: „We Are Perfect”
Director: Marek Kozakiewicz (Poland, 2024)

Jury’s justification:
Rarely have we seen such a tender portrayal of LGBTQ+ people. The testimonies of the young protagonists were brave, touching, and insightful. We could empathize not only with them, but also feel the perspective of their parents – and experience the love for their children. We found this to be an important message for the challenging times the LGBTQ+ community still has to face. 

🟢 Golden Goats for the best short film for children: „Pear Garden”
Director: Shadab Shayegan (Germany, Iran, 2024)

Jury’s justification:
We were impressed by the courageous visual style of this film which is both abstract and easy to follow. The details in movements bring life and charm to the characters and make them believable. The transformation of a child’s attitude towards changes in the life of a beloved person is being presented to us in a very authentic way. We learned that it’s okay to struggle with change and we are assured that one can find their way to deal with it.

🟢 Golden Goats for the best short film for young people: „Chikha – Queen”
Directors: Ayoub Layoussifi, Zahoua Raji (Morocco/France, 2024)

Jury’s justification:
We were fascinated to discover a tradition of musical poetry and way of living. We were immersed in a world we didn’t know before. We see a strong female character struggling to find her place in her family and rules of society. We admire that in the end she finds freedom by following her heart.

🟢 ECFA Award for the best feature-length film for children: „Young Hearts”
Director: Anthony Schatteman (Belgium, Netherlands, 2024)

Jury’s justification:
The Jury of European Children Film Association gives the award to a beautiful film about discovering first love. It’s an open minded film, where you can easily identify with the characters. It shows all the strong emotions related to the theme of experiencing first true love in a very authentic way.

🟢The Film Educators’ Award for the best feature-length film for children: „Flow”
Director: Gints Zilbalodis (Latvia, Belgium, 2024)

Jury’s justification:
Flow is an animated film that invites viewers to see the world through the eyes of animals, where humans are notably absent, yet their influence is omnipresent. Without the use of dialogue, the film crafts its story through striking visuals and deeply textured images, making it accessible to all ages and contexts and open to personal reflection. Its authentic and respectful portrayal of animals creates a space for interpretation of the challenges we face in an increasingly fragile world. The educational potential of Flow lies in its powerful message of collaboration despite differences, rich cinematographic and artistic references, its emphasis on empathy and environmental awareness, and its ability to inspire meaningful conversations.

Honorable Mention: „Lili”
Director: Sylwia Rosak (Poland, 2023)

Jury’s justification:
Lili receives special recognition as a documentary by a promising young filmmaker for her authentic portrayal of important themes. She introduces us to a remarkable and charming 8-year-old protagonist who deals with delicate personal situations with humor, maturity and curiosity, inspiring both children and adults. 

🟢 Marcin Award for the best full-length film for young people: „When We Lost to the Germans”
Director: Guido van Driel (Netherlands, 2023)

Jury’s justification:
We’ve decided to award the film When We Lost to the Germans for portraying children’s world in a simple yet deeply emotional way. The charming story about an ordinary and at the same time crucial moment in the lives of our two protagonists transforms into a nostalgic postcard of the world from half a century, which reveals unsettling details thanks to the striking black and white cinematography. It’s a universal story about loss of innocence. 

🟢 Marcin Award for the best short film for young people: „Stimulants & Empathogens”
Director: Mateusz Pacewicz (Poland, 2024)

Jury’s justification:
For the accurate portrayal of vices of Poles, as well as showing in a comically twisted way famous Polish hospitality and authentic depiction of problems and class differences in world of today’s youth, the Young People’s Jury would like to give an award for the best short film to Stimulants & Empathogens directed by Mateusz Pacewicz.

Honorable Mention: „Care”
Director: Jagoda Tłok (United Kingdom, 2024)

Jury’s justification:
Choosing the best film in this year’s short films competition for young people selection was a difficult task. That’s why, before giving justification for the main award from the Young People’s Jury, we would like to give a special mention for the film Care directed by Jagoda Tłok for its naturalistic depiction of an important topic of capitalization of human health.

🟢 The Young Critics Award for the best short film „Stimulants & Empathogens”
Director: Mateusz Pacewicz (Poland, 2024)

Jury’s justification:
We decided to choose Stimulants & Empathogens! The film finds its own way between pleasures of genre tropes and sharp, socially-oriented humor. Rather than being woeful, it asserts depicted aspects of the story and shows that stereotypes can lead to the creation of true and fulfilled queer cinema.

🟢Marcinek Award for the best full-length film for children: „Young Hearts”
Director: Anthony Schatteman (Belgium, Netherlands, 2024)

Jury’s justification:
The film shows the path taken by the main protagonist, who in the beginning feels lost, and moves towards self-acceptance, and enjoyment of everyday life. If we decide to open up to our loved ones and tell them about our feelings, they can help us to deal with difficult adolescence and first love, but also accept us. This film holds the potential to change young members of its audience that relate to the main character, Elias. The Children’s Jury composed of Łucja, Lena, Ignacy and Tymon decided to give the Marcinek Award for the best full-length film for children to Young Hearts directed by Anthony Schatteman.

Honorable mention: „Lars is LOL”
Director: Eirik Sæter Stordahl (Norway, 2024)

Jury’s justification:
We would like to give a special mention to the film, which, in our opinion, deserves this recognition. It tells a story about friendship that is put to the test. It shows us that it is not worth listening to the group that bullies the weak and vulnerable, but also that we should be able to acknowledge our mistakes and apologize for the harm that we caused. The special mention goes to Lars is LOL.

🟢 Marcinek Award for the best short film for children: „Lola and the Sound Piano”
Director: Augusto Zanovello (France, Switzerland, Poland, 2024)

Jury’s justification:
The Children’s Jury of Short Films Competition for children composed of: Maksymilian Guillemin, Maja Zduniewicz, Róża Rukszto and Krzysztof Trociński decided to give a Marcinek Award for the best short film for children to Lola and the Sound Piano, for the brilliantly made animation, well-chosen sets and characters created in an original way, for the wonderfully composed and performed musique concrète, for combining all film elements into a beautiful and coherent whole while remaining a strong message for the young audience, and for the resilience and inventiveness of the main protagonist, who let us enter into a small piece of the world filled with the sounds and colors of her unique brother.

Special Awards

🟢The Polish Filmmakers Association award for the best full-length children’s film of outstanding artistic value: „Diplodocus”
Director: Wojciech Wawszczyk (Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, 2024)

Jury’s justification:
Diplodocus is a multi-layered story exploring the whimsical and absurd world of a comic book author, Tadeusz Baranowski, that gains new meanings with every screening. A well-balanced mix of outstanding characters, universal topics, and dynamic storytelling shows how literature and film, as well as real life and imagination, are tightly intertwined. The portrayed real world aptly depicts a comic book author who has followed his passion since early childhood, stressing the importance of creativity, while the fantasy world shows how imagination may come to life in the strangest forms.

The film is an excellent example of work that can speak to the intergenerational audience thanks to an action-packed yet philosophical and touching story about reaching a goal despite the challenges, making it a universal tale that will easily cross geographical and generational borders.

Honorable Mention: „Young Hearts”
Director: Anthony Schatteman (Belgium, Netherlands, 2024)

Jury’s justification:
It is a well-developed and convincing story of first love needed for all generations.

🟢The Polish Filmmakers Association for the best Polish animated film of outstanding artistic value: „Potatoes”
Director: Marcin Podolec (Poland, 2024)

Jury’s justification:
Although the film starts its story in black and white, it shows in a beautiful way that interpersonal relationships can be full of colors. The tenderness, charm, and subtleness of this work touched our hearts. We are impressed by the use of the visual language, which emphasized a simple yet nuanced story and a very strong message that remains powerful despite the film’s subtlety. The Polish Filmmakers Association award for the best Polish animated film goes to Potatoes by Marcin Podolec.

🟢 Ale Debiut! Award by the Festival Organizer: Actress Villo Demeter („I Accidentally Wrote a Book”)

🟢 Wandering Goats – Audience Award of Wandering Ale Kino!: „Egg or Chicken?”
Director: Sébastien Gagné (Canada, 2024)