The awards ceremony for the 60th edition of the Prix Jeunesse International took place yesterday in Munich, where projects from the UK did particularly well.

In the non-fiction section, Sky Kids documentary Save Our Wildlife (28 minutes) won the Prize of the German Children’s Jury (seven to 10), while the Prize of the International Youth Jury (11 to 15) went to BBC Studios’ Deadly Mission Shark (10 x 30 minutes). 

Magic Light Pictures’ animated short film The Smeds and the Smoos (26 minutes) came out on top in the Fiction category for kids up to age six, as well as winning the UNESCO Special Prize for promoting a better understanding of different cultures. Based on a book by The Gruffalo writer/Illustrator duo Julia Donaldson and Axel Sheffler, this one-off centers around two star-crossed aliens who fall in love and leave their planet, forcing their warring families to stop fighting and work together to find them. The Smeds and the Smoos is produced in association with BBC and ZDF, and it also won an International Emmy Award in November 2023.  

Norwegian public broadcaster NRK took home a pair of Fiction trophies, winning in the 11 to 15 category with Like Me, an Emmy-winning web series about bullying in high school, and also in the seven to 10 category with Seafood TV’s live-action series Superhero Academy. 

Winning both the Gender Equity Prize and the UNICEF Special Prize for its “taboo-breaking” look at menstruation, short film Days of Thunder (16 minutes) from Mexico City film school Centro de Capacitación Cinematográfica is about a teen who wants to use a menstrual cup at school, but is challenged in doing so by a lack of clean water. 

Sinking Ship’s live-action/animated series Jane (15 x 22 minutes) for Apple TV+ won the Prix Jeunesse Theme Prize with its focus on sustainability, setting a strong example of developing children’s climate literacy. 

All told, 406 entries were submitted from 51 countries for Prix Jeunesse consideration this year. And the winners were determined by a vote involving more than 300 international kids TV professionals. 

Pictured is the Prix Jeunesse International 2024 winners. Courtesy of Prix Jeunesse.