March 31, 2025, New York, NY – Shine Global is proud to announce Savages (Sauvages), directed by Claude Barras and written in collaboration with Catherine Paillé, Morgan Navarro, and Nancy Huston, as the recipient of this year’s Unstoppable Kids Prize at the New York International Children’s Film Festival (NYICFF). This prestigious award recognizes a family-friendly film that highlights the resilience, courage, and determination of young people facing adversity.

The film follows 11-year-old Keria who lives on the edge of Borneo’s tropical rainforest with her father, where deforestation is rampant. Her life is upended when she adopts an orphaned baby orangutan and her Penan cousin, Selaï, comes to stay. She’s embarrassed by him at school, but when he runs away, she guiltily follows after him. They soon become lost and Selaï only knows the way back to his indigenous home. There Keria reconnects with her relatives and learns the ways of her people. When the loggers threaten her newfound home, she is determined not to let them destroy it. 

“Keria’s journey in Savages is a testament to the resilience of young people who must navigate both personal challenges and the outside circumstances that shape their world,” said Alexandra Blaney, Co-CEO and Creative Director of Shine Global. “As Keria embarks on a path of self-discovery—questioning where she belongs, who she is, and what kind of future she wants to build—she finds the strength to fight for her community and the land her family calls home.”

Through breathtaking stop-motion animation, Savages brings to life the beauty of the natural world while also showcasing the strength of the human spirit. The film does not shield young audiences from the harsh realities of environmental destruction or the dangers faced by those who resist the powerful forces behind it. Instead, it trusts them to engage with these urgent issues while celebrating the power of community, identity, and resistance.

“Keria’s courage and determination embody exactly what Shine Global’s Unstoppable Kids Prize honors—the unstoppable spirit of young people who, even in the face of enormous challenges, refuse to back down,” Blaney added. “We are thrilled to recognize Savages for its artistry, honesty, and inspiring message.”

The Unstoppable Kids Prize reflects Shine Global’s commitment to recognizing films that uplift and empower young people around the world. Savages stands as a powerful example of storytelling that is both visually stunning and socially impactful, making it a deserving recipient of this honor.

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About Shine Global

Shine Global is a non-profit media company that improves the lives of children by telling powerful stories to raise awareness, promote action, and inspire change. We produce inspiring films and compelling content about underserved children. Through tailored distribution and outreach, we connect with our audiences in communities, classrooms, museums, and on Capitol Hill as part of a powerful engagement campaign to encourage social change. Since our founding in 2005, Shine Global films have won more than 100 major awards, including an Academy Award® for Best Documentary Short Subject for Inocente and an Academy Award®-nomination and two Emmys® for War/Dance, and an Academy Award®-nomination for Anuja. Recent films include the documentary-animation hybrid Liyana, the hit documentary The Eagle Huntress, Through Our Eyes: Homefront which is available on HBOMax, the Ariel Award winner Home Is Somewhere Else, and Comedy Against the Odds.

ABOUT SHINE GLOBAL’S RESILIENCE AWARDS

Shine Global’s annual Resilience Awards honor exceptional films that center around the resilience of children and further the organization’s mission of improving children’s lives by harnessing the power of storytelling. Past winners include the feature documentaries Daughters (2024, Directed by Angela Patton and Natalie Rae), Name Me Lawand (2023, Directed by Edward Lovelace) which was also awarded the ReelAbilities Accessibility Award at Shine Global’s 2023 events, Lift (2022, Directed by David Petersen), Los Frikis (2024, written and directed by Tyler Nilson and Michael Schwartz) in partnership with Nantucket Film Festival, the short documentary Ayenda (2023, directed by Marie Margolius) in partnership with Heartland Film’s Indy Shorts International Film Festival, and the animated children’s film Dounia – The Great White North (2024, directed by Marya Zarif and André Kadi) in partnership with the New York International Children’s Film Festival.  

About NYICFF

Established in 1997, NYICFF’s mission is rooted in the belief of film as a path for young people to understand themselves and others. All programs are designed to celebrate the beauty and power of film, spark the inherent capacity of children to connect with complex, nuanced art, and encourage the creation of intelligent films that represent and celebrate unique, diverse, and historically excluded voices. NYICFF serves children, students, families, educators, filmmakers, and media arts professionals through its core activities: the annual, Oscar®-qualifying NYC film festival and national touring program; Film-Ed, a media arts and literacy program; and year-round special events.

The 2024 Documentary Directed by Angela Patton and Natalie Rae Was Recognized at an Award Ceremony at Paramount Pictures in Los Angeles; also Honored Jim Steyer of Common Sense Media, SpongeBob SquarePants, and Author/Illustrator and Former Miss Teen USA UmaSofia Srivastava

 (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Shine Global Inc)

LOS ANGELES, CA (October 16, 2024) – Last night, Shine Global – the renowned nonprofit media company dedicated to improving children’s lives by producing and supporting impactful films about children’s issues – awarded Daughters as the winner of their third annual Resilience Awards in Los Angeles. 

The Resilience Awards, hosted by actor/writer/producer Mike O’Malley and now in its third year, honors exceptional films that center the resilience of children and further the organization’s mission of improving children’s lives through the power of storytelling. The winning film, Daughters, is a powerful and deeply moving film that beautifully captures the bond between young girls and their incarcerated fathers, shining a light on the strength and resilience of these girls as they participate in a Date with Dad program in an attempt to maintain connections despite the barriers of incarceration.  It premiered at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, where it won both the U.S. Documentary Audience Award and the Festival Favorite Award before streaming on Netflix.

“The film embodies Shine Global’s mission to share stories of young people overcoming adversity, reminding us of the importance of hope, love, and the human spirit’s ability to triumph even in the most challenging circumstances,” said Alexandra Blaney, co-CEO and Creative Director of Shine Global. “Through Shine Global’s Resilience Awards Grand Prize, we aim to amplify the film’s impact beyond the screen, fostering real-world change by raising awareness about the effects of incarceration on families and supporting initiatives that promote fatherhood programs and restorative justice. We are honored to recognize Daughters for its commitment to amplifying these important voices and inspiring action.”

Daughters was awarded the grand prize package valued at $25,000, including cash and impact campaign services provided by Picture Motion, at the Resilience Awards ceremony last night on October 15, 2024, at Paramount Pictures, where filmmakers, industry professionals, and children’s rights advocates gathered to celebrate the remarkable achievements of all of the film finalists. The film was selected by a jury panel that included Scott Feinberg (Executive Editor, Awards at The Hollywood Reporter), Anita Raswant (Lead Programmer, Nantucket Film Festival), Amanda Spain (VP Longform Acquisitions at MSNBC Films), and Eden Sapir (Campaign and Grassroots Partnership Manager of Picture Motion), as well as audience votes. 

Director Angela Patton said  “I every day get to be in a position where black girls are being prepared for the world…And the way that this happens is because we allow girls to understand that they are already who they’ve been looking for, waiting for. They are their greatest ambassadors.”  Director Natalie Rae added, “they should inspire all of us with the resilience that these little hearts have to take us through their tragedy with hope.”

This year’s grand prize film nominees presented an extraordinary range of powerful stories from around the world, each highlighting the resilience of young individuals.

• In JessZilla (Emily Sheskin), we see Jesselyn Silva’s fight against cancer while pursuing her boxing dreams. 
• Kensuke’s Kingdom (Neil Boyle and Kirk Hendry) takes us on an adventure with a shipwrecked boy forming an unlikely alliance with a Japanese man on a remote island.
• La Suprema (Felipe Holguín Caro and Colombia’s official submission to the Oscars) follows a girl in a forgotten Colombian town striving to watch her uncle’s world title boxing match. 
• Searching for Amani (Nicole Gormley and Debra Aroko) chronicles a Kenyan boy’s quest to uncover the truth behind his father’s murder while becoming an activist amid a severe drought.

Five additional films were previously announced throughout the year as winners in different categories and awarded cash prizes in partnership with several film festivals. These films and filmmakers were also presented during the Awards Ceremony:

• The Children’s Resilience in Screenwriting Award at the Nantucket Film Festival went to Los Frikis (directed by Michael Schwartz and Tyler Nilson; producer Rebecca Karch Tomlinson and star Eros de la Puente attended the Resilience Awards to accept the prize)
• The short film Unibrow (directed by Nedda Sarshar and starring Lina Sennia) won the Children’s Resilience in Short Film Prize at Indy Shorts International Film Festival.
• Dounia – The Great White North (directed by Marya Zarif and André Kadi) won the Unstoppable Kids Prize at the New York International Children’s Film Festival.
•  Okthanksbye (directed by Nicole van Kilsdonk) earned the Children’s Resilience in Disability Stories Award at the ReelAbilities Film Festival.
• 3am Thoughts (directed by Gabriella Keil) received the Shine Global Resilience Award for Young Filmmakers at Montclair Film. 

In addition to the winning films, Shine Global highlighted three honorees making a difference:  Common Sense Media founder and CEO Jim Steyer for his commitment to advocating for children’s rights; author/illustrator and former Miss Teen USA UmaSofia Srivastava for her advocacy for youth mental health and well-being around the world; and SpongeBob SquarePants, for promoting emotional resilience, positive social interactions, and a love for creativity among children with Tom Kenny, actor and the voice of SpongeBob for 25 years, accepting the award on his behalf. 

UmaSofia Srivastava spoke about her multilingual children’s book, The White Jaguar, which she wrote and illustrated to share the message “that your identity and your background aren’t inhibitors to reaching your dreams. They’re the reason that you reach your dreams.”

In his speech, Jim Steyer read his poem “Prayer for Children,” written with Ina Hughes, and closed with telling the audience, “to me, who you are, who Shine Global is, we are the people who offer the hand to kids. And we are the people who tell their stories and make them real. And we are the people who not just will improve the lives of children, but who will finally, once and for all, make them the number one priority here in California, in the United States, and across the world.”

The 2024 Resilience Awards are sponsored in part by media partner The Hollywood Reporter who uplifts these powerful, culture-shifting films to receive the recognition they deserve; hospitality partner Sunset Marquis Hotel; Quest Pacifica; Del Shaw Moonves Tanaka Finkelstein Lezcano Bobb & Dang; Jon and Diane Moonves; CBS; Paramount Pictures; pocket.watch; DreamWorks Animation; Sunlight Entertainment; Mattel; IMAX.

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About Shine Global
Shine Global is a non-profit media company that improves the lives of children by telling powerful stories to raise awareness, promote action, and inspire change. We produce inspiring films and compelling content about underserved children. Through tailored distribution and outreach, we connect with our audiences in communities, classrooms, museums, and on Capitol Hill as part of a powerful engagement campaign to encourage social change.
Since our founding in 2005, Shine Global films have won more than 100 major awards, including an Academy Award® for Best Documentary Short Subject for Inocente and an Academy Award®-nomination and two Emmys® for War/Dance. Recent films include the documentary-animation hybrid Liyana, the hit documentary The Eagle Huntress, Through Our Eyes: Homefront which is available on HBOMax, the Ariel Award winner Home Is Somewhere Else, and Comedy Against the Odds which is currently in film festivals.

ABOUT SHINE GLOBAL’S RESILIENCE AWARDS
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, such as poverty, violence, illness, and discrimination, and demonstrate their resilience, courage, and determination.