PRIX JEUNESSE INTERNATIONAL 2004 Report of the Nomination ...

PRIX JEUNESSE INTERNATIONAL 2004
Report of the Nomination Committee
FICTION Report
The FICTION Nomination Committee team consisted of:
David Kleeman, American Center for Children's Media, USA
Andrej MALEZSKA, Director/Poland
Chris NG, Malaysia
Loes WORMMEESTER, Director/The Netherlands
Assisted by
Kirsten SCHNEID, Organization Manager, PRIX JEUNESSE INTERNATIONAL
Entries per category:
Category 1 F up to 6 years 48 programmes
Category 3 F 6 - 11 years 58 programmes
Category 5 F 11 - 15 years 23 programmes
Overall Comments
It bears repeating at every PRIX JEUNESSE: a Nominating Committee’s decisions reflect the
experiences and preferences of its members. A different Committee – even changing a single
member – could result in a different slate of finalists, particularly given the overall high quality of
the entries.
That said, the 2004 Fiction brought great experience, expertise and cultural sensitivity to its task.
We watched the programs carefully, sometimes even returning for a second look, and discussed
them in depth.
Very few entries went directly into the Festival or the Video Bar immediately after screening. Far
more often, we put decisions aside until we had seen most of a category. Then, we would compare
and contrast, being sure that we got the highest quality, the most diversity, and shows that would
stimulate the best discussion. Of course, our first obligation was to choose the most competitive
entries; our second consideration was whether the program would enhance the heart of PRIX
JEUNESSE – the group discussions.
We looked for shows that had children’s experiences, ideas and feelings at their center. Even in
fantasies, or stories set in another time, the core had to come across as understanding the world in
which today’s young people live.

PRIX JEUNESSE INTERNATIONAL 2004
Report of the Nomination Committee
We did not favor the new or innovative over classic stories well told: in both cases, something more
needed to attract us. Was the innovation soundly based or simply for the sake of being different?
Was a classic style well chosen and well executed?
Up to 6 (1 F)
In the Up to 6 category (1F), the Committee found that it was difficult to sustain a single story for a
full half hour. A number of producers solve this by combining two or more shorter stories in a single
program. This made judging difficult in some cases: with limited time in the final competition, it’s
hard to ask participants to watch two similar stories that were combined mainly because the TV
schedule mandated a half-hour.
PRIX JEUNESSE should address this in its rules. While programs are supposed to be entered as aired,
for evaluation and discussion, it’s sufficient (and probably preferable) to consider a single story.
The pre-school fiction category offered good variety of style and format. It was substantially
balanced among live action and animation, plus a few puppet programs. Even within those
categories there were diverse styles.
The category also offered innovative ideas in content development or presentation, to go along with
some very traditional and well-told stories.
6 – 11 category (3F)
The 6 – 11 category (3F) – as usual – had the largest number of entries, and a very high standard of
quality. The Committee agonized over its package of finalists, knowing that very good programs
couldn’t be included.
For 3F, it’s particularly important to note that a PRIX JEUNESSE program need not be aimed at the
entire category age span. Often, a program will have half its target audience in an adjacent
category, or be targeted only to the very bottom or top of an age group. Therefore, the Committee
debated whether certain programs were in the right category, but did not recommend a change if
the producers had completed the “specific target audience” box on the entry form, and it included
at least some years inside the category.
The result is that 3F will be a particularly hard category to judge and discuss. The stories span from
innocent tales for young children, through mainstream animated entertainment, to darker stories
touching on complex societal issues. Much depended on the cultures from which the programs
came, and their view of childhood.
In this middle age group, the Nominating Committee noted two gaps that are interesting as they are
near opposites of one another. Only a few stories opened windows on typical children’s everyday
lives; but even fewer portrayed fantasy worlds.
12 – 15 category (5F)

PRIX JEUNESSE INTERNATIONAL 2004
Report of the Nomination Committee
The 12 – 15 category (5F) was revealing about different countries’ views of adolescence. The young
people at the center of the stories ranged from barely teenaged to mid-20s. The issues in their
lives, not surprisingly, were equally broad. The Committee marveled at the risqué themes of some
programs, while thinking others would be seen as too juvenile for this age group.
Love and friendship were consistent topics, though, and the finalists will include an excellent crosssection
of stories from different cultures about teen relationships, that should result in great
discussions.
5F programs that made it to the final round tended to be authentic in their dialogue, settings and
emotions. Teens quickly reject stories they sense to be lecturing or condescending, or that feel as if
adults are trying to tell them what to find “cool.”
David Kleeman
April 2004
NON-FICTION Report
The NON-FICTION Nomination Committee team consisted of:
Kalle FÜRST, NRK/Norway
Dr Irene WELLERSHOFF, ZDF/Germany
Firas DEHNI, STV/Syria
Marion CREELY, RTE/Ireland
Assisted by
Ursula von ZALLINGER, Secretary General, PRIX JEUNESSE INTL
Entries per category:
Category 2 NF up to 6 years
Category 4 NF 6 - 11 years
Category 6 NF 11 - 15 years
19 programmes
70 programmes
40 programmes
Overall Comments
PRIX JEUNESSE 2004 will be a showcase for children’s broadcasting worldwide. With more than
entries from North and South America, Asia, Africa, Australia, the Middle East and Europe, the
festival offers an unrivalled opportunity to learn about global trends in children’s broadcasting. The

PRIX JEUNESSE INTERNATIONAL 2004
Report of the Nomination Committee
Festival will this year include 89 finalists in the three non-fiction categories from 120 broadcasters
and 69 countries. These include magazines, food shows, science and art shows, reality TV shows,
news bulletins and news features, observational documentary series and traditional documentaries.
The over-all calibre of the entries was very high, resulting in long and agonising discussions among
the, toward the unenviable but inevitable task of excluding some fine productions from the Festival
for reasons of time.
The Pre-Selection Comittee looked for programmes that are for the child and not simply about the
child. We looked for originality and imagination in the use of the language of television, appropriate
choice of presenter, clarity of communication, and a good understanding of the child’s world and
how best to communicate with it. While production standards were always a priority, the Pre-
Selection Committee also gave importance to representing diversity of geography and format in the
final selection.
There are exciting trends. Broadcasters seem more confident to place children at the centre of
programmes as star or commentator. This represents growing trust in young people’s perspective
and judgement. There is an attempt to be innovative around information, using formats also
gaining fashion in adult TV, such as ’reality TV.’
In documentary, broadcasters are investing in longer production periods to bring added truth and
diversity. Food programmes seem to be universally popular.
While some broadcasters showed a fear of ‘boring’ viewers with too much information, more daring
producers showed that imagination can communicate complex ideas effectively and entertainingly,
and these programmes were particularly rewarding.
AGE CATEGORY COMMENTS
Category II PRE-SCHOOL
The 22 entries in this area included some delightful and imaginative approaches to programme
making. The programmes that stood out took their audience seriously. The programme makers dared
to deal with complex ideas and concepts, using the language of television with imagination and
freshness in order to do so effectively and entertainingly.
We saw simple, charming and original programmes where children were the presenters or leading
commentators. The best of these showed the child's point of view without comment.
The most disappointing programmes fell back on traditional, well used, formats. They seemed not
to trust children’s intellectual capacity or powers of discernment, and oversimplified or trivialised
content, resulting in bland, repetitive programmes.
The Nominators were disappointed in the use of puppetry in this category, finding a disappointment
sameness in a genre where traditional demarcations between 'fiction’ and ‘non-fiction' are often
blurred to very creative effect.

PRIX JEUNESSE INTERNATIONAL 2004
Report of the Nomination Committee
Category IV, Non-Fiction 7-11
Current trends in adult TV, such as reality shows, docudrama and performance competitions have
made their way into children’s programming. This development has brought variety to an area of
broadcasting which had previously spawned few truly original ways to produce information TV for
school-age children. The least satisfactory programmes relied on traditional magazine formats or
shied away from giving information, while trying too hard to entertain.
Nonetheless, traditional well-told documentaries stood out from the crowd. Broadcasters are
investing in longer production periods and producing documentary series which follow one or more
children through a longer time frame, thus giving a more dramatic and compelling programme.
News programming is a vibrant area of children’s broadcasting, growing in ambition. The best news
bulletins use clear language and well-chosen visuals to explain even the most difficult news events,
but also broaden to cover items of specific interest to children in arts, sport and education.
Category VI, Non-Fiction 12-15
Once again, in this age category, there were fine, honest attempts to deal with tougher issues of
life, including AIDS, poverty, mental and physical disadvantage, domestic violence, gender and race
issues.
Perhaps, because it is possible to cover such a range of topics for this age group there tended to be
less experimentation with formats. There were a greater number of traditional documentaries than
‘docudramas,’ even though the latter often were able to communicate human experiences difficult
to cover any other way.
The Committee noted that some documentaries had a tendency to over use music in support of
scenes, while failing to trust to ambient sound.
Broadcasters’ big challenge remains to find innovative and entertaining ways to make ‘bread and
butter’ programmes that convey information. Here, again, the notable successes used a fearless
approach to information. If the style is right, viewers can take a great deal more information than
more faint-hearted broadcasters believe possible.
Conclusion
Due to the large number of entries and limited time in June, many excellent programmes failed to
make it into the Festival competition. They will all be in the video bar, however and Pre-Selection
Committee members will provide a list of their favourites to guide your viewing. After 6 long days of
viewing, detailed and sometimes heated discussion, the Non-Fiction Committee is confident that all
participants will find much to reward them in the sheer range, scope and diversity of programmes
to be seen at PRIX JEUNESSE 2004.
Marion Creely
April 2004