Press Release
WHAT MAKES ME HAPPY WINS INTERNATIONAL AWARDS
Ragdoll, producers of award winning children’s programming including Teletubbies and the new hit series In The Night Garden, are delighted to announce their Ragdoll Foundation initiative, what makes me happy has scooped three international awards.
It was awarded the Best Short or Medium-length Video Golden Butterfly Award in Iran at the International Festival of Film for Children and Young Adults, and, at the ninth China Children’s Film Festival in Ningbo, what makes me happy collected a Special Award as selected by a viewer panel comprising solely of children. Mahmoud’s Film, Occupied Palestinian Territories, was winner at the ROSHD Film Festival in Tehran.
This award winning special project, what makes me happy, is a series of short films produced for television created in participation with children and based on their experiences and ideas. Focusing on children discovering fun, hope or fulfilment in difficult circumstances, the series demonstrates the strength and power that children exhibit when living in adversity.
The underlying objective of each of these films was to portray children in a positive light and show their will and determination to overcome the pressures and struggle they experience every day. They introduce both children and adults to the situation of children living in the developing world and deprived communities closer to home.
The Ragdoll Foundation in partnership with Save the Children filmed in Nepal (Ranjita’s Film); China (Junjie’s Film); Sri Lanka (Hashi’s Film); the occupied Palestinian Territories (Mahmoud’s Film); Ethiopia (Amran’s Film); and inner-city Newcastle (Tommy’s Film) – all of which were broadcast on Five’s pre-school strand Milkshake! in the UK and in Palestine and Sweden.
“I am delighted ‘what makes me happy’ and the children’s stories it features, is receiving the global recognition we believe it deserves”, said Anne Wood, Founder and Creative Director of Ragdoll Productions Ltd. “We have always put children at the very centre of every Ragdoll production and involved them in every step of the film making process. These Awards are a credit to everyone who has worked on this project both in front of and behind the camera, but especially to Annie Gibbs who has produced and directed with the utmost respect for the children involved.”
For more information, please contact:-
Mary W. Hagger
01789 404 100
email maryh@ragdoll.co.uk
Notes to Editors:
Ragdoll, a privately owned family company, was founded by acclaimed children’s television programme maker, Anne Wood, in 1984 and has produced more than 1,400 programmes aimed at the youngest viewers. Ragdoll produced series for children can be seen in more than 120 countries and territories around the world, and in the UK are screened by the BBC, ITV and Five. Ragdoll and its children’s programming including the phenomenally successful Teletubbies, celebrated 10 years on television in 2007, the super-brave superhero Brum, those mischievous ragdolls Rosie and Jim, the adventures of Tots TV, the imaginative and magical Boohbah, BadJelly the Witch and Open a Door have all achieved international recognition. Blips, premiered in the UK on CiTV from 2005. Currently Ragdoll is in production with two new commissions for BBC Television - In the Night Garden, which launched on CBeebies and BBC2 in March 2007 and Tronji to air on CBBC in 2008. In September 2006, Ragdoll and BBC Worldwide announced a new joint venture, Ragdoll Worldwide, to manage and exploit the Ragdoll catalogue, which includes Teletubbies, In the Night Garden, Brum and Boohbah. Ragdoll retains all UK broadcast rights and Ragdoll USA Inc, part of the new joint venture, will continue to manage the Ragdoll portfolio in North America.
The Ragdoll Foundation set up by Anne Wood is dedicated to developing the power of imaginative responses in children through the arts. It owns 15% of Ragdoll and springs from the same philosophical roots. The Foundation is governed by a Board of Trustees, chaired by Katherine Wood and administered by one Ragdoll member of staff with some additional professional support from Ragdoll the company. It is funded entirely by Ragdoll Limited. Ragdoll believes that ‘every child has the right to laugh, be happy, and have the freedom to be themselves, but circumstances often act against this”. The foundation’s aim is to work with children in deprived circumstances to help unlock their creativity and allow them a safe space to develop their voice and be heard.
For more information on Ragdoll Productions or The Ragdoll Foundation please visit www.ragdoll.co.uk or www.ragdollfoundation.org.uk
The what makes me happy series captures the positive spirit and resilience of children around the world in short dramatized films. The aim of the films is to represent a different point of view; the point of view of children growing up in uncertain times. Children live in the same world as the rest of us, but they perceive it differently.
For more information on what makes me happy please visit www.whatmakesmehappy.tv