Jury Statements
KUKI Festival
3/11/24 - 10/11/24
3/11/24 - 10/11/24
Jury Statements
Our class thought the film was really great because it was so funny! It's an animated movie. The film is about an octopus who wants his window pane to stay nice and clean. The octopus and the cleaner kept misunderstanding each other.
Dear Erik and dear Joost, Your film INK has won! Congratulations!
We thought the film was great because the music was very fitting to the images. In one scene we could really feel the pain when a toe nail ripped off. The film is about situations where you hurt yourself. That happens to us a lot too!
Congratulations dear Steffen Hand to our Special Mention for AUA!
Dear kids, dear filmmakers, dear KUKI Team, we are the class 6a of the Bötzow Primary School and we are one of the jury classes. Even though we can't see each other live in the cinemas, we had lots of fun watching the films, discussing them and finally awarding our winner. It was a difficult decision to choose the best films because all of the short films had something special.
We decided on a short film that deeply moved us. Although it is a rather serious subject the director made the film in a way that you can have fun watching it. It's about a topic that many children are familiar with from their own experiences. An example: you go with your parents to a park or forest but instead of observing nature the parents take lots of photos and videos. This can be really annoying! The film also impressed us because it looks very interesting It use real-life backgrounds but has little hand-crafted figures. A lot of effort must have gone into sketching and building all the elements. Everything had a high quality and the music fitted perfectly. It reminded us of videogame music.
We hereby award the first prize to the film: WHATEVER TREE by Isaac King from Canada. Congratulations!
We like the film very much because it was animated in an outstanding and detailed way. The music is beautiful and fitting. The film is about a topic that is important to us: studying. Therefore we could relate to the characters. The film is about a girl whose mother wants her to memorize everything. Eventually her head is too full and her mother buys her a new one. During a walk the new head gets lost. While the mother is searching for the new head, the girl plays with other children for the first time.
Our Special Mention goes to:MATILDA IR ATSARGINĖ GALVA in english: MATILDA AND THE SPARE HEAD Hence it goes to the director Ignas Meilūnas. Congratulations!
We, class 9a of the Manfred-von-Ardenne-Gymnasium, had the chance and the honour to choose the winning film at the 13th International Short Film Festival for Children and Youth this year. This was a completely new and exciting experience. Thank you for this opportunity
But now to the winning film in the two categories "TeenScreen" 12 & 14, or perhaps not quite so fast? We will keep it a bit more exciting by presenting a riddle.
Tip 1: A red headband.
Tip 2: A special friendship.
Tip 3: Video games.
As you have probably guessed by now, this year's winning film is called "Streets of Fury". Congratulations to Aidan McAteer!
The reasons why we have chosen this film: We loved the idea of using two retro computer games as a template for a short film and we found that it turned out excellently. Although it looks extremely simple, there is clearly a lot of effort behind the technical realisation. The choice of colors and music is very well suited, both of which make the short film thrilling and lively.
Due to the simple plot and its universal comprehensibility - the film gets by without the use of dialogue - the short film is suitable for every nationality and age group.
The film is funny and entertaining. But there is much more to it. What we liked most about the story was the depiction of the friendship between the two protagonists, the street fighter "Max Punchface" and the peaceful sheep "Fluffy". Max, who at first fails because of a seemingly unbeatable "final boss", suddenly finds himself in another world that is so completely different from his own. This is where Fluffy lives, and Max is able to show him a whole new side of himself. But Fluffy also learns from Max. Together they form an almost unbeatable team and defeat the final boss.
Friends complement and help each other. Together they are strong. We liked this message so much that we chose the film as the winner. It is funny and encouraging at the same time. The retro style of the animation is cool. That's why "Streets of Fury" is the best short film for us this year!
We are already looking forward to the continuation of the story as a series!
We also liked "Beauty Boys" very much, which is why we would like to award it with the "honorable mention".
Entertaining, lively, creative - here we see the typical world of drag queens. But what is behind the facade? Often it is a long and hard fight for recognition. This is represented very well in "Beauty Boys". The film also deals with the topics of acceptance and prejudices, shown on the basis of two brothers who pursue two opposing lifestyles.
We especially liked the acting, the costumes and the soundtrack. Everything harmonized really well. Furthermore, we would like to praise this film because it addresses an important topic for us young people. In a way, it is also a coming of age story. The boys in the film ask themselves who they are, or how they want to be and whether it is okay to be different. Many know these kind of questions, even if they are not drag queens.
We think that many young people should see this film so that the subject can become more widely accepted. Whoever is different (no matter how) should not be discriminated against. The film manages this in a very entertaining way and therefore gets the " special mention " from us.
Congratulations to Florent Gouëlou!
What is a valuable film? Always a film that a jury would consider to have a special value, a special statement, a special way of being moving.
The KUKI- FBW- Jury 2020 holds the film 199 little heroes: Jésùs from Mexico for just such a film.
The film unobtrusively and without showmanship shows the everyday life of children as only few of us know it. From the point of view of a young boy, the film conveys really good messages for children on big topics such as family, home, responsibility, fear, safety, love, birth, money.
Particularly in times of great flight and migration, the jury considers the film to be valuable in providing children and young people with perspectives on other cultures, living conditions and social contexts. On these topics, the film, possibly part of a film series, is very well suited to promote this understanding of experiences outside of one's own living environment. A big plus here is that these descriptions are made by a boy in his own formulations, i.e. age-appropriate for recipients in a similar age group, and can therefore be understood well.
This film belongs in school lessons and the jury therefore finds it "particularly valuable" as a contribution to international understanding in an educational context.
Se murió Juan Gabriel
The film deals in a subtle way with gender equality, sexuality, and the hurdles you face when you don't fit into the classical roles. Daniel would like to have long hair, feminine clothing and the attention of Betto. How is Daniel seen by his schoolmates, how does he see himself and how should he deal with the fact that he is in love with his best buddy Betto, with whom he usually talks about girls? And why are we as viewers so confused and surprised that it seems to be of no importance to all the protagonists of the film that his posture, his appearance, as well as the way he talks, makes him look very feminine?
By using the effective - although classic - means of changing from black and white to colors, all these questions are answered and Daniel will dare to kiss Betto after all. The young man's reaction to this perfectly sums up what the film is: a model of tolerance.