Lars is LOL and Ibelin are two of the three films nominated for the European Young Audience Award, presented at the European Film Awards.
The European Film Academy, a membership organization for European filmmakers, awards the European Film Awards each year and also organizes a children’s film award called the Young Audience Award.
For this year’s selection, three films have been nominated, and two of them are Norwegian: Lars is LOL, directed by Eirik Sæter Stordahl, and Ibelin, directed by Benjamin Ree. The third nominated film is the German film Winners, directed by Soleen Yusef.
Now, 12- to 14-year-olds from 38 European countries will individually watch the films and then vote on which of the three films will be named the best European children’s film.
Which film wins and whether it will be one of the two Norwegian nominees will be announced at the European Film Awards ceremony on Saturday, December 7, in Lucerne, Switzerland.
"Children and young people deserve good films that reflect their reality and are created from their point of view. That’s the kind of films we make in Norway. We’re already thrilled that both Lars ia LOL and Ibelin have had strong cinema attendance in Norway and have received numerous awards so far. Now that they also have a good chance of winning this prestigious award, we are, of course, very proud to contribute at the European level," says Kjersti Mo, director of the Norwegian Film Institute.
Lars er LOL premiered in Norway in the fall of 2023 and is about a boy named Lars, who has Downs syndrome. When he changes schools, he makes a new best friend in Amanda. However, their friendship is tested when classmates start a blog to mock Lars. Amanda is pressured into sharing private videos of him because she fears being ridiculed herself.
The film won the Barnfonden Prize for Best Children and Youth Film at the BUFF Film Festival in Malmö. Barnfonden is a Swedish children’s rights organization, which stated: "The film is a touching story about the right to be different and having the courage to apologize."
The film is directed by Eirik Sæter Stordahl, based on a book by Iben Akerlie, and produced by Caroline Hitland.
Lars is LOL has turned out to be very popular at festivals. It has received awards such as Cinekindl Best Children`s film at Filmfest München and the Michel award – main prize – at Filmfest Hamburg, in addition to the Audience award at Lucas Film Festival.
The documentary Ibelin tells the story of Mats Steen, a Norwegian gamer who passed away at the age of 25. After his death, his parents discovered he had lived a rich life in the digital sphere, with friends worldwide.
Since its premiere at Sundance (where it also won an award), the film has been acclaimed with awards in Gothenburg and at the national Amanda Awards. It was acquired by Netflix and premiered globally on the Streaming service in late October.
The film is directed by Benjamin Ree and produced by Ingvil Giske.
Only once before has a Norwegian children’s film won the Young Audience Award, which happened in 2021 when the award went to The Crossing, directed by Johanne Helgeland.
