In a June 10 election European children between the ages of 10 and 13 years, hailing from Amsterdam, Belgrade, Copenhagen, Erfurt, Norrköping and Turin, voted Boudewijn Koole's KAUWBOY winner of the first European Film Academy Young Audience Award. The other two nominated films were BLUE BIRD of Gust van den Berghe (Belgium) and SISTER Ursula Meier (France / Switzerland).
The film is about 10-year-old Jojo (Rick Lens) who one day brings home a jackdaw but is caught between caring for the bird and loyalty towards a father prone to temper tantrums. Director Koole shared script-writing duties with Jolein Laarman. The film is produced by Waterland Film in collaboration with the NTR. Dutch distribution will be through Benelux Film Distributors.
KAUWBOY was awarded the Grand Prix for Best Youth Film and the First Feature Award at Berlinale 2012. The film has also been selected for numerous festivals including BAFICI in Argentina, Kristiansand International Children's Film Festival in Norway, Tel Aviv International Children's Film Festival in Israel, Giffoni Film Festival in Italy, Melbourne International Film Festival in Australia, Buster International Film Festival for Chidren and Youth in Denmark and the BFI London Film Festival.
The European Film Academy Young Audience Award was organised and presented by the European Film Academy and EFA Productions with the support of Mitteldeutsche Medienförderung (MDM).