MICHEL Award MAJA 2024
Celebrating friendship!
4. October 2024
The MICHEL Film Award MAJA, endowed with 10,000 euros, has been presented to the Norwegian film Lars is LOL, directed by Eirik Sæter Stordahl. The decision was made by the MICHEL jury, consisting of seven children and young people aged between 12 and 16. In addition, the South Korean film It’s Okay! received an honorable mention.
The jury particularly liked how the serious topic of mobbing was “presented in a realistic and child-friendly way in Lars is LOL.” The jury’s statement continued: “Through this film, we learned how people with Down syndrome live and are treated. We were also able to identify with the lead actress, as she doesn’t do everything right like in other films, but also makes mistakes and learns from them.”
Lars is LOL deals with friendship: after the summer vacation, 11-year-old Amanda is looking forward to becoming the mentor of a first-grader. But then she is assigned Lars, the new schoolmate with Down syndrome, and she is disappointed. But then a special friendship develops between the two, which she puts at risk when her friends make fun of Lars and Amanda doesn’t have the courage to be open with Lars.
The jury also awarded an honorable mention to the Korean film It’s Okay! (director: Kim Hye-young): “We could fully empathize with the main actress, as all the emotions were there. It was nice to see how people who were so different ended up living together and learning from each other”.
After seven successful days with a total of eight feature films in competition, two episodes of the hit series The Peppercorns, the Series for Minis for the youngest cinema-goers, a hands-on workshop Adventure Animation and the German premieres of Niko – Beyond the Northern Lights (cinema release: 7.11. 2024) and The Super Elfkins (cinema release: 24.12.2024), the 22nd MICHEL Kinder und Jugend Filmfest will be concluded today with the award ceremony before the closing film Jippie No More (directed by Margien Rogaar). The MICHEL Award MAJA, endowed with 10,000 euros, will be presented for the second time. The prize is sponsored by cinema owner Hans-Peter Jansen, whose Studio-Kino in Bernstorffstraße has been the MICHEL festival cinema since 2023.
Since 2003, the MICHEL Children and Youth Film Festival has been inviting young cinema fans on an annual film trip in the fall, parallel to the “big” festival, to discover the latest productions from faraway countries and get to know other worlds. An age-appropriate moderation, films in the original language and guests, including actors and directors, make the festival visit an exciting experience. Steffi Falk has been the director of the MICHEL Festival since 2021.
