The British Academy Children’s Awards in Association with Electronic Arts
Programme-makers today are faced with huge challenges as they aim to educate and entertain children whose viewing skills and choices are already extremely sophisticated.
This makes the Academy's role in recognising and rewarding excellence in Children's entertainment all the more vital and challenging.
The British Academy Children's Awards in association with Electronic Arts took place on Sunday 25 November 2007 to celebrate the best in moving image for children, whether in film, television, video games or online.
Two exciting new categories were introduced for the awards: Break-through Talent and Children's Video Game. Our Learning categories were reviewed to better reflect the rapid changes in teaching methods and the impact of the digital curriculum. The Awards now truly represent excellence in all forms of children's entertainment.
While the annual Awards are voted for by BAFTA members (including film-makers, programme-makers and games developers), the Academy also gives children a voice. The BAFTA Kids' Vote in association with Electronic Arts enabled children to vote for their favourite film of the past 12 months. The 10 nominated films were selected from the year's top box office family-oriented pictures and voted for on the websites of CBBC, Cartoon Network, CiTV, Disney Channel UK, Nickelodeon and Paramount. In the end, The Simpson's Movie came out on top as the favourite film of the past twelve months.
In addition BAFTA partnered with CBBC to launch a new children's film-making initiative to inspire and enable children to make their own films and tell their own stories. CBBC Me and My Movie , in association with BAFTA was launched on Blue Peter in April.
On the CBBC website children accessed an original 3D interactive space filled with film-making tips. The competition was also supported by film-making events at CBBC Summer Roadshows and at BBC Open Learning Centres across the country. A BAFTA jury decided the final four nominations and the winner was The Unwelcome Stranger by 14-year-old Rosalind Peters (see pic).
