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Nóra Lakos’ family film, I Accidentally Wrote a Book (Véletlenül írtam egy könyvet) won two awards last week: the audience award at the Tumbleweeds Film Festival in the United States, while in Norway it won the award for best European feature-length children’s film, the National Film Institute (NFI) announced.
The Utah Film Center has been organizing the Tumbleweeds Film Festival, the longest-running children’s film festival in the Mountain West region, for 14 years. The annual film festival features films about children and for children, and this year it also screened Nóra Lakos’s family film, which was voted best film by the audience.
The Hungarian film then competed at the Kristiansand International Children’s Film Festival from May 7 to 9, one of Norway’s largest cultural events for children and young people, and the only film festival of its size targeting young audiences. At the event, attended by the film’s lead actress, Villő Demeter, and writer-director and producer Nóra Lakos, the jury awarded the film the prize for best European feature-length children’s film.
The jury decided to award a film that tells a story from a child’s perspective in a unique way and moves away from the classic formula of ‘good versus evil.’
The film is set in a bright and positive universe, similar to a child’s dream, and focuses on the inner development of the main character through writing. Also noteworthy is the director’s ability to create a pan-European film with extraordinary potential,” reads the European Children’s Film Association (ECFA) jury’s evaluation.
According to the announcement, the ECFA jury’s award also means that the film has been nominated for the best European children’s film of the year, which will be decided by the members of the European Children’s Film Association during the Berlinale in 2026. Launched in 2011, the ECFA Award is the only European children’s film award decided by around 150 international experts, making it unique in terms of value and prestige.
Produced with the support of the National Film Institute (NFI) and distributed jointly by JUNO11 Distribution and the Human Rights and Cultural Foundation, I Accidentally Wrote a Book has already proven itself in several competitions, winning the award for best film for young audiences at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival.
In addition, it won the Grand Prix at the Montréal International Children’s Film Festival, and the film’s lead actress, Villő Demeter, returned home with the award for best young European talent from the long-running Ale Kino! festival in Poland.
In Hungary, the film won a special prize for feature films at the 44th Hungarian Film Review.
The family film, which is still showing in Hungarian cinemas but is also available on Netflix, was written and directed by Nóra Lakos and produced by Claudia Sümeghy and Tamás Yvan Topolánszky. The production, which has already been seen by more than 155,000 people in Hungary, is the first green production of the National Film Institute, supported by the Nederlands Filmfonds and Eurimages, co-produced by JUNO11 Pictures and the Dutch BIND, and presented by JUNO11 Distribution and the Human Rights and Cultural Foundation. The film’s line producer is Erika Tarr, cinematographer is Dániel Reich, production designer is Juci Szurdi, costume designer is Fruzsina Lányi, creative animation director is Péter Bátory, and composers are Jacob Meijer and Alexander Reumers.
Via MTI, Featured photo via Pixabay