Two Canadian productions were honored at the April 25 awards ceremony for the seventh Sprockets Toronto International Film Festival for Children, a growing event looking to expand its market and industry presence.

Sprockets reports a 10% jump in audience numbers over last year, with 17,000 children and family members attending, and, according to Kelly Alexander, director of industry for the Toronto International Film Festival Group, Sprocket’s market and industry events are showing similar growth.

‘We saw a dramatic increase in participation [on the industry side of the festival] and we’re absolutely thrilled with the support that we are now beginning to build with the local production community,’ says Alexander.

Three industry sessions brought Canadian broadcasters such as YTV and local production executives from the likes of Nelvana and Divine Entertainment together with filmmakers and seven international buyers who attended this year’s festival, up from three last year.

‘That is the direction Sprockets is heading in, doing more of these types of exchanges and relationship building that could lead to coproduction,’ says Alexander.

This is good news for Pat Ellingson, head of children’s and daytime programming at TVOntario, who describes Sprockets as a ‘mini-market,’ and says she’d like to see it expand.

‘I think [the market] aspect of the festival could grow. We tend to have to travel quite a distance to pick up new kids programming.’

Journey to Little Rock: The Untold Story of Minnijean Brown from Ottawa director Rob Thompson won the audience choice award for best feature and Chica’s Bird from British Columbia director Adam Mars was voted best short film by a jury of young people (all Sprockets award winners are selected by youth). Le Golem de Montreal, directed by Isabelle Hayeru, was also among the 17 features and 42 shorts that screened over 10 days.

Journey to Little Rock is a feature-length documentary from Ottawa prodco North East Productions about the life of a young girl who was one of nine black students to courageously stand up against racism in Arkansas in 1957. Sprockets creative director and programmer Jane Schoettle says the film’s difficult subject matter demanded interactivity.

‘When you show a documentary to young audiences [8-18], I believe you have a responsibility to provide context,’ she says.

Minnijean Brown, who lived in Canada for more than 20 years, as well as Thompson and producer Maria Yongmee Shin, spoke with audiences after each of three screenings.

According to Janek Lowe, director of development at Toronto’s Devine Entertainment, which produced its first children’s feature, the $10-million Bailey’s Billion$ in Sepetmber 2003, this is just the type of participatory event that makes Sprockets an important festival.

‘Children need to be engaged,’ says Lowe. ‘It’s good to see a festival like this, because when the industry sees children presented with the smaller films that are not cookie-cutter products, they see that there is a market.’

The best in children’s programming was also celebrated in Halifax at Viewfinders: International Film Festival for Youth, an Atlantic Film Festival initiative held April 20-24. Mai’s America, directed by Marlo Poras, won for best feature, Confessions of an Old Teddy from director Jon Bang Carlsen was voted best short and Michele Lemieux’s Nuit d’orange won best animation.

-www.e.bell.ca/filmfest/sprockets

-www.atlanticfilm.com