Lola Kenya Screen

Marco Gianfreda, the Italian director of IO PARLO that won the Lola Kenya Screen Golden Mboni Award for the best children’s film says, “I would like to thank you very much. I'm very happy. it's a great honour for me to have received such an important prize. It’s wonderful when a story we made here appeals to people so far away as it has done in eastern Africa”
South African Minky Schlesinger , whose UGUGU NO ANDILE grabbed the Lola Kenya Screen 14-Plus Award for the best youth film says, “ I can't tell you how honoured we are to have received the inaugural 14-Plus Prize. For me, personally, it is all the more meaningful because it's an award from our own continent. It demonstrates that the audience for whom we made uGugu no Andile has understood the film, and taken it to its heart. I am very grateful.”
Wanuri Kahiu of Kenya simply remarks, “Wow!!!!! Thank you. What a blessing. Thank you soooo much for the award.”
Kahiu’s film, FROM A WHISPER, received the 14-Plus Award for the third best youth film prize.

Main Awards

• The 4th Lola Kenya Screen Golden Mboni Award for the best children’s film: IO PARLO (I'll Tell on You!) by Marco Gianfreda, Italy
• The 4th Lola Kenya Screen Silver Mboni for the second best children’s film:  THE HAPPY DUCKLING by Gili Dolev of Scotland/Israel
• The 4th Lola Kenya Screen Bronze Mboni for the third best children’s film: PAMELA by James Kanja, Kenya
• The Lola Screen 14-Plus Award for the best youth film: UGUGU NO ANDILE (Gugu and Andile) by Minky Schlesinger, South Africa
• The Lola Kenya Screen 14-Plus Award for the second best youth film: A BEAUTIFUL TRAGEDY by David Kinsella, Norway/UK
• The Lola Kenya Screen 14-Plus Award for the third best youth film: FROM A WHISPER by Wanuri Kahiu, Kenya

Special Awards    

• Best Animation: Złamana pieczęć /The Broken Seal by Paweł Czarzasty, Poland
• Best TV Series: Złamana pieczęć/The Broken Seal by Paweł Czarzasty, Poland
• Best Children’s Rights Film: El Regala De La Pachamama/Pachamama by Toshifumi Matsushita, USA
• Best Experimental Film: Delroy Kincaid by Powys Dewhurst, Canada
• Best Documentary: A Beautiful Tragedy by David Kinsella
• Best Student Film: Elephants by Sally Pearce, UK
• Best Film by Youth: How Do You Score?, off the YOUNG LOVE documentary compilation, by Azariah Simon, Indigo Sanders, Austin Harris, April Monetbon, Douglas Moffat Jr, Everett Anderson, USA

Special Mention

The following films—mainly from the Industrialised North—exhibited great promise in terms of artistry and the ability of grappling with international themes of universal appeal using children aged 5-17 years. These children step in when authority figures like parents, teachers and the police display inaction or unwillingness in solving problems affecting society. This presentation of children as empowered humans with the ability to deal with issues affecting them is quite refreshing, stimulating and worth of mention:

• Kur Paludis Elvis by Una Celma, Latvia
• Cuento De La C by Carlos Navarro, Spain
• Soto Il Mio Giardino by Andrea Lodovichetti, Italy
• Babalwa’s Story by Charlene Houston, South Africa
• Una Vida Mejor by Luis Fernandez Reneo, Spain

The 2009 Jury

The jury of Lola Kenya Screen 2009 consisted of the following children aged between 7 and 15 years:

1. Wangari Mumbi Kiarie, president
2. Gertrude Awino
3. Vanessa Wanjiku
4. Samantha Wangui
5. Noella Akinyi
6. Danson Mureithi
7. Phoebe Wanjiru

While the jury comprising only children and youth—6-15-years—judges and awards the Lola Kenya Screen Golden Mboni Award for the best children’s film and the Lola Kenya Screen 14-Plus Award for the best youth film, the festival-goers give the Audience’s Choice Award.

Over the past four years, special prizes have been presented by the ArtMatters.Info Critics Guild/Mentorship Programme with the support of ComMattersKenya. However, starting from the 2010 festival (August 9-14, 2010), an academy—the Lola Kenya Screen Academy—will take over  this arduous but important task.

The Creativity Award for the best project at the Lola Kenya Screen Film Production Workshops is usually given by the film workshop facilitators and mentors in conjunction with the festival directorate.


Presented by ComMattersKenya in collaboration with Goethe-Institut, the partners of Lola Kenya Screen 2009 were UNESCO, Africalia, Jan Vrijman Fund/IDFA, ArtMatters.Info, and Cinematic Solutions.