Filmmakers Sarah Saidan and Mahnoor Euceph win jury awards at New York International Children’s Film Festival

Posted by Brandy McDonnell on Apr 7, 2023 | 0 comments

Following the conclusion of its 26th annual event, the organizers of the New York International Children’s Film Festival have announced its 2023 award winners.

The New York International Children’s Film Festival is an Oscar-qualifying film festival, and winners of the festival’s jury awards are eligible for consideration at the Academy Awards, according to a news release.

This year, two women directors were named the winners of the jury awards.

The jury’s prize for best live-action short film was awarded Mahnoor Euceph’s “Eid Mubarak” (United States). Euceph’s winning short centers on a Pakistani girl who embarks on a crafty mission to save her beloved pet goat from being eaten on the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Azha.

Sarah Saidan’s “Home of the Heart” (France) received the jury award for best animated short film. Saidan’s short follows Omid, an Iranian immigrant now living in France, who has a fateful encounter that takes his breath, and heart, away – or maybe he left it behind in his beloved homeland.

The festival’s 2023 jury included Kim Díaz (Vice President of Creative Development, Sesame Workshop), Kyle McLachlan (Emmy-nominated actor, “Twin Peaks”), Hsiang Chin Moe (Chair of BFA Animation, School of Visual Arts in New York City), Huda Razzak (New York International Children’s Film Festival jury award-winning filmmaker, “The Ocean Duck”), Ira Sachs (director, “Passages”), Uma Thurman (Oscar-nominated actor, “Kill Bill”), Nora Twomey (Oscar-nominated filmmaker, “My Father’s Dragon”), and Christine Vachon (CEO Killer Films and award-winning producer, “Boys Don’t Cry”).

Along with the jury awards, the festival honored audience award winners, which were determined by audience voting in five age brackets as well as for three all-ages grand prizes.

Here are this year’s audience award winners:

Audience Award, ages 3 and older — “The Smeds and the Smoos” (United Kingdom); Daniel Snaddon and Samantha Cutler

Audience Award, ages 6 and older — “Gugu naGogo” (Australia); Taku Mbudzi

Audience Award, ages 8 and older — “Architect A” (Korea); Jonghoon Lee

Audience Award, ages 12 and older — “The Originals” (United States); Cristina Costantini and Alfie Koetter

Grown Ups Award, determined by audience members ages 18 and older — “More Than Hair” (Canada); Fitch Jean

Grand Prize Short Film — “Architect A” (Korea); Jonghoon Lee

Grand Prize, Animated Feature — “Ernest & Celestine: A Trip to Gibberitia” (France, Luxembourg); Julien Chheng and Jean-Christophe Roger

Grand Prize, Live Action Feature — “Totem” (Germany, Luxembourg, Netherlands); Sander Burger

-BAM

 

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