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This annual event recognizes and celebrates the films and filmmakers that highlight the resilience and strength of children in the face of adversity. The awards are open to films of any genre that showcase children overcoming challenges and demonstrate their resilience, courage, and determination. Past winners include the feature documentaries Name Me Lawand (2023, Directed by Edward Lovelace and produced by Fleur Nieddu), Lift (2022, Directed by David Petersen and produced by Mary Racine), and the short film Ayenda (2023, directed by Marie Margolius). Other categories and prizes are also offered through our partner film festivals.
New York City
September 5 – October 1
Weekly film screening series of the nominees in NYC at the New Plaza Cinema @ Macaulay Honors College
Los Angeles
October 15, 2024
Awards Ceremony in Los Angeles at Paramount Pictures October 15, 2024
2024 Honorees
UmaSofia Srivastava
2024 Shine Global
Youth Activist Honoree
UmaSofia Srivastava is the 17-year-old author and illustrator of the multi-lingual children’s book The White Jaguar and the first Mexican-Indian, first generation Miss Teen USA. She is a champion for children’s education, nutrition, and healthcare, working closely with organizations such as The Lotus Petal Foundation, Bridge of Books, Smile Train, and Vote.org to improve the lives of children in the US and around the world.
Jim Steyer
2024 Shine Global
Titan Honoree
Jim is one of the world’s most respected experts on issues related to children, education, media and technology. He is the Founder and CEO of Common Sense Media, the nation’s leading child advocacy group and the most influential nonprofit in the kids’ media and technology space globally. Jim is an award-winning adjunct professor at his alma mater, Stanford University, where he has taught popular courses for more than 30 years and currently teaches Stanford’s largest class. He and his wife have four wonderful children and live in San Francisco.
SpongeBob SquarePants
2024 Shine Global
Children’s Champion Honoree
SpongeBob is incurably optimistic, innocent, earnest, and well-meaning sea sponge who lives in a pineapple under the sea. He is a free spirit, fascinated by the obvious, yet creative enough to see everything in a new light. His good humor and good intentions often irritate others, but his refreshing attitude makes him a likable underdog. He embraces each moment with enthusiasm and has a love for his job at The Krusty Krab, a fast-food restaurant, where he has earned “Employee of the Month” for 25 years and counting. SpongeBob’s strongest trait is his optimism. His positive energy transforms the way others look at things, helping find the humorous irony in even the dullest of life’s details.
2024 Nominated Films
Daughters
Four young girls prepare for a special Daddy Daughter Dance with their incarcerated fathers, as part of a unique fatherhood program in a Washington, D.C. jail.
Angela Patton, Natalie Rae | Producers Natalie Rae, Lisa Mazzotta, Justin Benoliel, James Cunningham, Mindy Goldberg, Sam Bisbee, Kathryn Everett, Laura Choi Raycroft | 107 min | USA | 2024
JessZilla
Jesselyn Silva is a 3x national boxing champion. As Jesselyn is on the cusp of making the Junior Olympic team, she is forced to face her toughest battle yet – a cancer diagnosis.
Directed by Emily Sheskin | Produced by Ben Kainz | 9o min | USA | 2023
Kensuke’s Kingdom
A young boy, shipwrecked on a remote island, discovers he is not alone when he encounters a mysterious Japanese man who has lived there since the end of World War II. As dangerous invaders appear on the horizon, it becomes clear they must join forces to save their fragile paradise.
Directed by Neil Boyle, Kirk Hendry | Producers Camilla Deakin, Ruth Fielding, Adrian Politowski, Martin Metz, Stephan Roelants, Jean Labadie, Anne-Laure Labadie, Sarah Radclyffe, Barnaby Spurrier | 84min | United Kingdom | 2023
La Suprema
In a town erased from the maps where there’s not even electricity, a girl dreams of boxing. When she learns her uncle will box for the world title and it will be broadcast live on tv, she and the community will do everything to watch the fight, while battling oblivion.
Directed by Felipe Holguín Caro | Produced by María Teresa Gaviria | 84 min | Colombia | 2023
Searching for Amani
A 13-year-old aspiring journalist investigates his father’s mysterious murder within the boundaries of one of Kenya’s largest wildlife conservancies. As a ravaging drought encroaches, his quest to find the killer shifts, and an activist is born as the collateral damage of a warming world is revealed.
Directed by Nicole Gormley, Debra Aroko | Producers Nicole Gormley, Peter Goetz, Mungai Kiroga, Caryn Capotosto| 80 min | USA/Kenya | 2024
2024 Winners at Partner Film Festivals
Dounia – The Great White North
*Winner of the Unstoppable Kids Prize for family-friendly films at the 2024 New York International Children’s Film Festival*
“Dounia: The Great White North” follows the journey of 7 year-old Dounia and her grandparents as they get to know Canada, the country that welcomed them when they fled their war-torn homeland.
Directed by Marya Zarif, André Kadi | Produced by Judith Beauregard| 51 min | Canada | 2023
Los Frikis
*Winner of Children’s Resilience in Screenwriting Award at 2024 Nantucket Film Festival*
A group of punk rock teenagers from Havana deliberately inject themselves with HIV to escape the oppression of “special period” Cuba.
Written and Directed by Michael Schwartz and Tyler Nilson | Producers Jordan Fudge, Jeremy Allen, Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, Rebecca Karch Tomlinson, Aditya Sood, Michael Schwartz & Tyler Nilson| 105 min | USA, Dominican Republic | 2024
Okthanksbye
*Winner Children’s Resilience in Disability Stories Award at 2024 ReelAbilities Film Festival*
An adventurous coming-of-age drama about two young deaf girls who go on an unforgettable road trip together where they not only get to know each other better, but also themselves.
Directed by Nicole van Kilsdonk | Produced by Rogier Kramer, Laura Bouwmeester| 92 min | The Netherlands | 2023
Unibrow
*Winner Children’s Resilience in Short Film Prize at 2024 Indy Shorts International Film Festival presented by Heartland Film*
An Irani-Canadian girl (Lina Sennia) is forced to rethink her relationship with her unibrow and her Irani heritage, when she is forced to make friends with the new girl from Iran.
Directed by Nedda Sarshar| Producers Rabiya Mansoor, Shreya Patel| 14 min | Canada| 2023
3am Thoughts
*Winner of the Shine Global Resilience Award for Young Filmmakers at Montclair Film*
A teenager has an anxiety attack in the middle of the night about absolutely everything.
Directed, written, and produced by Gabriella Keil| 5 min | The Netherlands | 2023
Jury Members
2024 Jury Members Include:
- Scott Feinberg, Executive Editor of Awards Coverage at The Hollywood Reporter
- Anita Raswant, Lead Programmer at Nantucket Film Festival
-
Amanda Spain, VP Longform Acquisitions at MSNBC Films
- Eden Sapir, Campaign and Grassroots Partnership Manager at Picture Motion
Previous Jury Members include:
Jill Burkhart, VP of Unscripted Programming for MGM+
Maria Perez Brown, Head of Kids & Family, TIME Studios
Anita Chandra, VP and Director of Social and Economic Well-Being, RAND Corporation
Tyler Coates, Awards Editor at The Hollywood Reporter
Amy Kennedy, child rights activist and Democratic congressional candidate
Jana Sue Memel, Academy-Award winning producer
Greg Sorvig, Artistic Director of Heartland Film
Kay Wilson Stallings, Executive Vice President, Chief Creative Development and Production Officer for Sesame Workshop
Brian Walker, CEO Picture Motion
In the Words of Attendees and Filmmakers
Donate
If you can’t attend any of the events, please consider making a donation to support Shine Global’s mission of telling the stories of children’s and families’ resilience to raise awareness, promote action, and inspire change.
Live Auction
Support Shine Global & Salaam Balaak Trust by bidding on an original artwork by renowned artist Suchitra Mattai, producer of the award-winning film “Anuja.” Proceeds from the auction will be shared by both organizations to support our missions of improving children’s lives.
Film Festival Partnerships
Shine Global and Heartland Film have partnered to present the Spotlight: Children’s Resilience program at the Indy Shorts International Film Festival and award the $2,500 Short Film Prize.
All short film submissions should be submitted directly to Indy Shorts International Film Festival: https://filmfreeway.com/HeartlandFilmIndyShorts
Reel Abilities is dedicated to promoting awareness and appreciation of the lives, stories, and artistic expressions of people with disabilities. Shine Global is presenting a $2,500 prize for a project demonstrating the resilience of children withdisabiltieis
Montclair Film and Shine Global are presenting two prizes for student filmmakers participating in Montclair Film Education’s annual Emerging Filmmaker Competition (EFC). An award of $500 will be granted to the winning film in a new filmmaking category focused on resilience, and another cash prize of $500 will be awarded to the EFC’s Grand Prize winning film.
This prize is given to a film with outstanding storytelling that effectively portrays the resilience and strength of children and young people.
This collaboration establishes a special prize for filmmakers participating in the New York International Children’s Film Festival, with an Unstoppable Kids Prize award of $2,500 to the winning film, intended for youth audiences, that highlights children’s resilience.
2024 Sponsorship Opportunities Available
Shine Global provides corporations, businesses, and community partners with opportunities to engage with audiences and support Shine Global in our mission of improving children’s lives with powerful storytelling that raises awareness, promotes action, and inspires change!
You can view our 2024 Resilience Awards Sponsorship overview here. Please contact Francile Albright Mullen at francile@shineglobal.org for additional sponsorship information.
Benefits for sponsors include:
- Branding exposure
- Marketing outreach
- Advertising placements
- Opportunity to co-present an event
- Film ticket packages and access to special events
2024 PRODUCER LEVEL SPONSORS
DIRECTOR LEVEL SPONSORS
IMPACT CAMPAIGN SERVICES
AFICIONADO LEVEL SPONSORS
Jon & Dianne
Moonves
Charitable
Fund
GOLD LEVEL SPONSORS
