The European Film Academy has announced the three nominees for the EFA Young Audience Award 2015. These are Sanna Lenken’s Min Lilla Syster (My Skinny Sister) from Sweden/Germany, Gabriele Salvatores’ Il Ragazzo Invisible (The Invisible Boy) from Italy, and Mark Noonan’s You’re Ugly Too from Ireland.
The nominations were chosen by an international committee consisting of Per Eriksson, Swedish Film Institute, Beata Marciniak, New Horizons Association (Poland) and Paola Traversi, Museo Nazionale del Cinema (Italy).
On Young Audience Film Day (Mayrd), the three nominated films will be screened to audiences of 12 – 14 year-olds in 25 cities across Europe. Sadly no Irish city is among the 25.
And it is these young audiences that will act as a jury and vote for the winner right after the screenings. In a truly European vote, jury speakers will then transmit the national results live, via video conference, to Erfurt (Germany) where the winner will be announced in an award ceremony streamed live on yaa.europeanfilmawards.eu, a special website that offers further information about the nominated films and the participating cities.
Written and directed by Noonan, the film stars Aidan Gillen as Will, who is released from prison on compassionate leave to care of his niece Stacey, after the death of her mother. An odd couple of sorts, they leave the city behind to pursue what they both hope will be a fresh start in the sleepy surroundings of the Irish midlands. The two bicker and fight as they adjust to their new life together and make tentative steps towards becoming an improvised family.
You’re Ugly Too was recently nominated for the Best First Feature Award at the Berlin International Film Festival, where the film had its World Premiere in the Generation Kplus category.
You’re Ugly Too was produced by John Keville and Conor Barry for Savage Productions and was filmed in counties Dublin and Offaly. The film was funded by Bord Scannán na hÉireann/the Irish Film Board.
This year’s fourth edition of the EFA Young Audience Award had a record 25 participating countries.
The European Film Academy Young Audience Award is organised and presented by the European Film Academy and EFA Productions with the support of the Mitteldeutsche Medienförderung (MDM). The national Young Audience Film Day events will be organised with the support of the respective national partners.