Youth Cinema Network Award

The annual Youth Cinema Network (YCN) Award recognizes excellence in film made by young people. Established in 2016 as a single award, it is now presented to the best films in three age groups:

* ages 0 – 14
* age 15 – 19
* age 20 – 27

In 2021, one more section was presented: *film made in the framework of a short-term workshop.

YCN festivals nominate one film for each group, YCN members cast one vote per age group (a festival may not vote for its own nomination) and the films with greatest number of votes in each age category are declared winners.

Every year the YCN awards are presented at a different festival. Starting with Wicked Wales Film festival, UK in 2016, the awards have been announced at REC, Germany (2017), Nextfilmfestival, Denmark (2018), Enimation, Slovenia / Up and Coming, Germany (2019), Camera Zizanio, Greece (2020), Nordic Youth Film Festival, Norway (2021), Novemberfestivalen, Sweden (2022) and Up and Coming, Germany (2023).


Youth Cinema Award 2023

THE YCN AWARDS 2023 WERE PRESENTED DURING AN ONLINE CEREMONY AT THE END OF OCTOBER. THE AWARDS WILL BE GIVEN OUT AT UP-and-COMING INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
IN HANOVER, GERMANY.

Ages 0 – 14: Viktoria
Filmmaker: "Aniděti"
Ukraine, Czech Republic / animated documentary
Nominated by A-FilmTeensFest, Czech Republic
Synopsis: From Eastern Ukraine to Prague. Why did Viktoria come to the Czech Republic years ago and how did she settle in the Czech Republic over the years?

Ages 15 – 19: As You Are
Filmmaker: Daisy Friedman
USA / fiction
Nominated by NFFTY, USA
Synopsis: When an interabled queer couple spends the night together for the first time, they must confront their complex relationships with desire, sexuality, bodily autonomy, and what it means truly to love another person.

Ages 20 – 27: Wall to Wall
Filmmaker: Linda Lövgren
Sweden / fiction
Nominated by Novemberfestivalen, Sweden
Synopsis: The film is about a mute girl named Lo, who does anything to avoid social contact. One day, she receives a package delivered to her home, which contains a microphone, the contents of which lead her to contact her strange neighbor. They begin to communicate with each other through the wall and become friends. A friendship that means more than they can imagine.

Workshop category: Our Dreams
Filmmaker: a group of authors
Czech Republic / documentary
Nominated by A-FilmTeensFest, Czech Republic
Synopsis: The film was created by children from the Children's Home in Duchcov as part of the documentary workshop Adonai for people, which is also sponsored by the A-FilmTeensFest festival. It offers a heartfelt look into their lives in the orphanage, highlighting their unwavering determination and remarkable talents.


Youth Cinema Award 2022

THE YCN AWARDS 2022 WERE GIVEN OUT AT NOVEMBERFESTIVALEN IN TROLLHÄTTAN, SWEDEN.

Ages 0 – 14: Take Heart
Filmmaker: Lilith Jörg
Germany / animation
Nominated by FiSH - Festival im StadtHafen Rostock, Germany 
Synopsis: The barriers are in the mind. Leonhard sticks to his usual daily routine. He is fearful and overly cautious. Until one day he decides to hike to a mysterious waterfall he read about in the newspaper…

Ages 15 – 19: Runaway
Filmmaker: Wilma Sjögren
Sweden / fiction
Nominated by Novemberfestivalen, Sweden
Synopsis: Naomi suffers from social anxiety which has long isolated her from the world outside her small apartment. For the first time in her life Naomi dares to face her anxiety and run away with her best friend Pan, out into the night.

Ages 20 – 27: Heart Failure
Filmmaker: Will Wightman
UK / fiction
Nominated by BFI Future Film Festival, UK
Synopsis: Heart Failure follows Frank and his relationship with Lizzie. From the one-night stand where they meet to the day she tells him she loves him; from the week she ignores his texts to the moment she says they need to talk.

Workshop category: Autonomy
Filmmaker: a group of authors
Norway / fiction
Nominated by NUFF - Nordisk Ungdom Film Festival, Norway
Synopsis: A mom and her daughter are on a hiking trip, when the daughter disappears. The mother quickly falls into a panic searching for her, and runs around desperately. Even in reunion, their experiences of the events remain different.


Youth Cinema Award 2021

THE YCN AWARDS 2021 WERE GIVEN OUT AT NORDIC YOUTH FILM FESTIVAL IN TRØMSO, NORWAY.

The YCN Award in age group 0–14 was given to
Anxiety
Filmmaker: Eva Ulreich
Country of origin: USA
Nominated by: NFFTY, USA
Synopsis: Young girl fights her inner demons.

The YCN Award in age group 20–27 was given to
Loco
Filmmaker: Rory Wilson
Country of origin: UK
Nominated by: BFI Future Film Festival, UK
Synopsis: A train driver is left traumatised after an incident on the tracks.

The YCN Award in age group 15–19 was given to
Florieren
Filmmaker: Florin Garzotto
Country of origin: Switzerland
Nominated by: Schweizer Jugendilmtage, Switzerland
Synopsis: Cinematic self-portrait about Florin’s early days as a transman.

The YCN Award for film made in the framework of a short-term workshop was given to
Oida
Country of origin: Austria
Nominated by: YAAAS!, Austria
Synopsis: During the Crossing Europe Filmfestival 2021 40 young people in four teams realized videos with the help of a mentor. The theme was "My sweetest taboo - from the temptation to break boundaries". This is one of the four stories.


Youth Cinema Award 2020

THE YOUTH CINEMA NETWORK AWARDS 2020 WERE
GIVEN OUT AT
CAMERA ZIZANIO IN PYRGOS, GREECE.

The YCN Award in age group 0–14 was given to
Wavy Head
Filmmaker: Max Shoham
Country of origin: Canada
Nominated by: Enimation, Slovenia
Synopsis: When I was 9 months old, a team of doctors cut into my skull, removed my forehead, put my eye-sockets on a table, reshaping my face completely. This caused a year of tension and terror in my family, and gave me scars still visible today, yet I can’t remember a single thing about the whole ordeal. It was therefore irresistible to make a film investigating this personally life-changing event that seemed to only change the lives of my family.

The YCN Award in age group 20–27 was given to
Tree #3
Filmmaker: Omer Ben-Shachar
Country of origin: USA
Nominated by: NFFTY, USA
Synopsis: After he's been cast (again!) as a background tree in his annual school play, an ambitious and imaginative immigrant boy leads a revolution on stage that his intolerant drama teacher will never forget.

The YCN Award in age group 15–19 was given to
Pirates
Filmmaker: Cal Arnold O'Driscoll
Country of origin: Ireland
Nominated by: Fresh Film Festival, Ireland
Synopsis: In 1980s Ireland Pirate radio was huge. It's cheap, easy and will make you famous! That's why these three friends set one up in an attempt to beat the bullies and get the girls.


Youth Cinema Award 2019

THE YCN AWARDS 2019 WERE GIVEN OUT AT ENIMATION IN SLOVENIA
AND
UP AND COMING IN GERMANY.

The YCN Award in age group 0–14 was given to
Dragons of Maritten
Taiwan 2018 by Hok Key Dragon – Hsu
nominated by VAFI & RAFI

The YCN Award in age group 20–27 was given to
Departures
Uruguay 2019 by Nicolas Morganti Patrignani
nominated by BFI Future Film Festival

The YCN Award in age group 15–19 was given to
Der Junge mit dem Teddy
Germany 2018 by Alessandro Schuster
nominated by FiSH - Filmfestival im StadtHafen


Youth Cinema Award 2018

THE YCN AWARDS 2018 WERE GIVEN OUT AT THE NextFilmFestival IN ODENSE, DENMARK.

The YCN Award in age group 0–14 was given to
I am Hitkoak
(Canada 2017) Tabitha Adine

The YCN Award in age group 20–27 was given to
Calamity Falls
(USA 2018) Hadley Hillel

The YCN Award in age group 15–19 was given to
Taste of Love
(Austria 2017) Paul Scheufler


Youth Cinema Award 2017

THE YOUTH CINEMA NETWORK AWARDS 2017 WERE GIVEN OUT
AT THE 
REC-Filmfestival IN BERLIN, GERMANY.

The YCN Award in age group 0–14 was given to
Come Home
(Belgium 2015) KIDSCAM Animation Studio

The YCN Award in age group 20–27 was given to
The Love Story
(USA 2015) Evan J. Grothjan

The YCN Award in age group 15–19 was given to
Hana Hano Hanice
(Croatia 2016) Marko Bičanić and Karlo Vorih


Youth Cinema Award 2016

THE YCN AWARD 2016 WAS GIVEN OUT AT
THE 
Wicked Wales Film Festival IN PRESTATYN, UK, TO THE FILM:

A GOOD CHRISTIAN
Directors:
Friday Opabajo, Francis Hoet, Marc Künker, Elia Dresselaers, Albi Allaraj, Pauline Geiermann, Melvin Berndt
produced and guided by
YOUNG DOGS and KIDSCAM (Germany/Belgium)