16 February 2018
Two S4C children's programmes have been praised by highly respected TV and film festivals in North America and Europe, as the Toronto Film Festival in Canada, and the Prix Jeunesse, in Munich, Germany, publish their shortlists.
This week, the Toronto Film Festival announced the nominations for their children's film festival, TIFF KIDS, and shortlisted is Elen, a short film which is part of the Sinema'r Byd series on S4C.
Produced by Ie Ie Productions, and part of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) international film scheme, Elen tells the story of a ten-year-old girl with epilepsy, and a vivid imagination.
Filmed in the Bethesda area in Snowdonia, Martha Jones stars in the main role with veteran actor John Ogwen also among the cast. The screenplay and music score is written by Lisa Jên Brown of the folk band 9Bach, who also stars in S4C's drama series Gwaith Cartref.
The TIFF KIDS festival is held between 9 and 18 March, and is a celebration of films for children from three to 13 years old. Elen will be shown on S4C for the first time in May.
The Prix Jeunesse International children's TV festival is a biennial event, and shortlisted for a prize this year is the game show Project Z.
The series, which is produced by Boom Cymru, is currently being broadcast every Tuesday evening on S4C. It follows groups of schoolchildren who are set a series of challenges in order to escape their schools without attracting the attention of the 'Zeds'; zombies infected by a virus which threatens to take over the world!
Project Z has been nominated in the 11-15 year old category, and has been shortlisted from among over 400 entries worldwide. The prizes are presented during the festival, held in Munich, Germany, between 15 and 30 March.
"I'm delighted that two S4C productions have been recognised by these two internationally respected festivals," says Sioned Wyn Roberts, S4C Children's Content Commissioner. "Both festivals celebrate creativity and content created especially for young minds, something that is important for us in S4C as investors in original programmes for children. Congratulations to both production teams; the nominations are a credit to their dedication and creativity."
In recent years, several S4C children's programmes have been nominated at the Prix Jeunesse International awards. Among them is the film Dad (Filmworks) and Ysbyty Cyw Bach (Chwarel) which were nominated for awards in 2016, and the animation NiDiNi (Griffilms) in 2014.
These nominations bring the tally of international nominations for S4C productions in recent weeks to five. On 9 February the New York Festivals International Film and Television Awards announced their finalists which included three S4C productions: drama series Bang; the innovative social experiment Hen Blant Bach; and an emotional documentary, Colli Dad, Siarad am hynna.
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